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The morning sun bathes a line of quarantine enclosures at the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) centre in Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam, where keeper Dinh Van Tham is doing his daily rounds. At 61, he is the oldest and the longest-working keeper, having dedicated his life to caring for wildlife for 18 years.

At each stop, Tham removes the pangolin from the warmth of its sleeping box for a visual health check, including removing any ticks. He proceeds to wash and clean the concrete enclosures, where the rescued pangolins are kept for a period before being transferred to a semi-wild enclosure.

Once the inspection is done, Tham completes a chart, noting the resident pangolin’s condition, eating habits and also the quality of its poop. Pangolins are the most trafficked animal in the world; trapped and killed for their scales, used in traditional Chinese medicine, and their meat, seen as a delicacy among the increasingly wealthy in China and Vietnam.

Outside the enclosures, boxes from rescue operations have been cleaned and left to dry in the sun. SVW have their work cut out for them, since Vietnam is not only a source country, but also a transit and destination hub for trafficked pangolins. Conserving pangolins is key to ensuring its survival in the wild as it teeters on the brink of extinction in Asia.

At the semi-enclosures, a mother pangolin having been given a clean bill of health has just been transferred to the semi-wild enclosure with her son, ‘Ha’. Even though she does not have very good eyesight, she compensates by using her long snout and strong sense of smell to sniff her way around the enclosure.

Pangolins are nocturnal animals and are active mostly at night. But this morning, Ha’s mother is up bright and early exploring her new, temporary home, while her son remains fast asleep. Usually shy and solitary, this Sunda pangolin is determined to ignore the sunlight and curious onlookers for the moment.

While some pangolin species are terrestrial, the Sunda pangolin is an adept climber. Ha’s mother is able to scale the tree trunks and scramble along the branches using her strong claws and semi-prehensile tails to grip the branch.

Tham looks on with affection, but also a little anxiously as he would prefer she was in her burrow asleep. Ha’s mother arrived at SVW pregnant and gave birth in May 2019. The Sunda pangolin is one of four species found in Asia, all of which the IUCN has listed as critically endangered.

After some time, Tham decides to direct Ha’s mother back into the burrow. He is concerned that the prolonged time up during the day would mean less sleep and more stress, thus affecting her health.

SVW vets have picked up 16 pangolins rescued along the border of Laos and driven through the night to the Centre at Cuc Phuong National Park. This is a common position to find trafficked pangolins after being rescued. When threatened or afraid, pangolins roll up into a near-perfect ball, covering their faces and undersides, to protect themselves

While their scaly armour keeps predators away, it makes it easier for humans hunting them to pick up. Many look tired, scared and emaciated. Once out of the boxes, the vets weigh the creatures first, then start treating the pangolins by injecting fluids under the scales to rehydrate them.

This is followed by examining them for wounds and ticks. Since the pangolins are usually malnutritioned, getting them fed with fluids as quickly as possible is essential to starting them on the road to recovery. The most critical time for these pangolins to ensure survival may be the first five days after arriving at the centre.

The process requires more hands than are available and often, Tham, and other keepers step in to assist the vets.

Bucky had a significant wound to his left wrist and has to have his wound cleaned and bandaged every day. The vets are hoping to prevent a serious infection that could result in his paw being amputated. Injuries like this are often man-made, caused by snares, from very tight netting, or being cramped in a cage with other animals for days, even weeks.

Pangolins are renowned for being hard to take care of. One of the reasons is their unique diet, which consists of termites and ants. SVW has spent years researching and learning how to ensure the survival of rescued pangolins in captivity so that they can be successfully released into the wild.To date, SVW has released some 1,000 pangolins, a testament to their winning rehabilitation methods.

This has meant finding natural food sources for the fussy eaters. Pangolins are fed a combination of frozen ants eggs imported from ant farms in Australia and live ants. The latter is tricky to harvest and Tham and other keepers have to tolerate being bitten by these weaver ants in order to feed their beloved pangolins.

To ensure pangolins are protected from being recaught after release, SVW set up Vietnam’s first Anti-Poaching Unit (APU), which is based out of Pu Mat National Park. Each year, the team removes dozens of snares and traps, and have seen a significant drop in hunting activities since they started patrolling the forests.

The APU consists of villagers hired from local communities living around the Pu Mat National Park. This strategy ensures that future generations of Vietnamese are informed and inspired to appreciate the value of wildlife and to stop hunting and consumption practices.

The future of conserving and protecting endangered pangolins looks to be a long road, but with the dedicated support of organisations like SVW, these sweet, magnificent ant-eaters might still be saved from extinction. For now, Ha and his mother can look forward to being released back into the wild where they belong, with an all-you-can-eat buffet of ants and termites.

The rescued pangolins with injuries are brought to the clinic to be given a more thorough check-up. If their wounds are serious, the vets give them antibiotics to treat any potential infections.

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