Submitted by Carmyn de Jonge on Thu, 18/02/2021 - 10:56
A PhD student at Cambridge University is doing a charity run dressed as a pangolin to highlight their struggle for survival. Charles Emogor has been fascinated by the scaly mammals since he was a little boy in Nigeria. Now he's to run for 8 hours dressed as one on World Pangolin Day (February 20) in a Covid-safe event to raise funds and awareness about conserving the creatures.
There are eight different kinds of pangolins and Charles will run for an hour for each one. Pangolins are preyed upon by illegal wildlife traders because their meat is a prized delicacy in parts of the world and their scales are used in Chinese medicine.
They have also been in the news because of their suggested links to the pandemic. Charles is studying white-bellied pangolins with Professor Andrew Balmford in the Cambridge University Zoology department.
I have been passionate about pangolins from the age of eight and consider myself incredibly lucky to be studying them, especially now that the are in dire need of attention.
Charles Emogor
Charles is doing the run in partnership with Save Pangolins and all the money he raises from his run will go to conservation projects in Africa and Asia.
The more people who know about this, the better for pangolins – and from the feedback I have received so far, it might help cheer up spirits as we go through the current lockdown.
Charles Emogor
Read the full article on the ITV News website here...
