I was reading CNN and stumbled across an article about the pangolin. Pangolins are apparently the most trafficked mammal in the world. And almost no one has heard about them.This is the link to the article about the trafficking of pangolins. In my own attempt to raise awareness about the very existence of this animal I'm going to tell the story of our pangolin experience on safari in Botswana. And because it's a cool story. I have a lot of cool stories from that time my parents had a mid-life crisis and moved their kids to Africa but I'm not very good at talking about them. I mean, how often do pangolins come up in conversation? About twice in 14 years...
That time I saw an armadillo in Africa:
I was 12 when we went on our big African safari. We'd had about 4 months in Luanda, Angola at that point and my dad's boss was very concerned that my brother and I would see Africa as nothing more than the war-torn, poverty stricken mess that surrounded us in Luanda. A sidenote, Africa is soooo much more than the war-torn poverty stricken messy pictures you see... it's beautiful in so many ways even in the middle of that mess. But that's another story.
My parents agreed that we needed to explore all the continent has to offer and we booked our first safari in Botswana. My mom spent a ton of time researching where to go and what safari camps would accept kids and where you could go to see what animals and which ones had what tactics to keep the lions out at night (no joke). We flew (I think) into Maun and then took a small private plane to the first game camp.
When we landed the guide picked us up in one of the safari trucks and drove us back to the camp. On the way my mom started telling the guide about how she really wanted my brother to see a giraffe because he'd never seen one, even in the zoo. Sure enough we rounded the corner and there were probably 7 giraffes eating. Turns out giraffes in the Moremi Game Reserve are pretty common.
As it turns out, so was pretty much everything else we wanted to see. During the first few days at that camp we saw lions, antelope, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, a dead zebra being fed on by a cheetah and vultures, hyenas, more giraffes, elephants, and a ostrich. For a couple kids from Alaska (where the zoo's exotic animal is two tigers) it was pretty awesome.
But this is the story of how we saw the pangolin.
We finished our time at the Mombo camp and moved on to Duba camp. This was a smaller camp with just us and two gay lawyers from New York when we arrived. As a note, these camps are luxury affairs. This was 'glamping' before the term even existed. Kids were not common. Most people don't pay that much to take their 12 and 9 year old on a safari. Most people don't move their kids to Angola either. What I remember most is that the staff at that camp loved my brother and me. They even made us a cake the last night (it might have been an apology for the next series of events however).
We woke up the first morning early and had breakfast then headed out in the safari vehicle to see what we could see. Every car has a driver, a spotter who sits on the hood and looks for animals and a guide and then usually two or three rows of seats for guests. As we were leaving, the driver had a little trouble starting the car and remarked that we couldn't turn it off. The other car was leaving to go for supplies and was unavailable. We headed out.
Northern Botswana is flat. Flat and big and open plains with patches of trees. It's beautiful and you feel so small in the middle of it all. You can drive along without roads because everything is so open. That's about what we were doing when all the sudden the spotter JUMPED off the front of the car screaming something that got the driver and the guide very very excited (I've never seen someone run so fast). We drove over to where the spotter had something curled up in his hands . Oh look an armadillo! But no, not quite... Pangolins are bigger. When they're scared they roll up into a ball. They're nocturnal and it's unusual to see them in the day. In fact, it's unusual to see them at all. None of our Safari crew had ever seen one before. It's considered very very lucky to see a pangolin. We stopped and took some pictures with it. The guide told us how they eat ants and have a very long tongue and are very shy and almost never seen. We really were very fortunate.
What happened next, is less fortunate. In his excitement over the pangolin, our driver turned off the car. Remember him saying we couldn't turn the car off? Of course, it was too late at that point. The car was off. It wasn't turning back on. They radioed the camp. The other car was still a few hours away from being able to get us. But it's okay, we're Alaskans (and two gay New Yorkers) we know how to take care of ourselves in this situation. We stayed near the car. My parents sent my brother and I to start getting together wood to make a fire since it was starting to get dark (with the New Yorkers commenting on how impressive it was we knew things like this). The fire would have been a great idea if we could get it started. I remember standing there trying to light something on fire when my mom called me back to the car. I looked up and all I could see were glowing red eyes all around me. Hyenas. Naturally. I slowly returned back to the car.
Just as the New Yorkers were letting an 9 and 12 year old play with their professional grade cameras the other car arrived, much to my parents relief. They jumped our car and we headed back to the camp. We had one last obstacle between us and dinner. All the safari cars were outfitted with these awesome engine snorkels, so you can drive through water without killing the engine. It wasn't unusual for the guide to tell us to put our feet up and go through a puddle big enough to swallow most of the car. This particular vehicle must of had something wrong with it's snorkel because sure enough, the engine stopped in the middle of waist high water. This time we switched cars completely. Someone picked me up and just handed me across the water which, in my twelve year old mind, was absolutely infested with snakes and crocodiles and I think might have scared me more than the hyenas. We arrived safe and sound at last. We even got a cake the next night.
Plus, an awesome story about how we saw a super rare animal that no one has ever heard of. Except now you have! You should also know that they trafficked by the TON in southeast Asia for absolutely no good reason. They are really the most harmless animal you never expected to exist. I really hope they hang in there long enough for my kids to have their own pangolin story someday.
That time I saw an armadillo in Africa:
I was 12 when we went on our big African safari. We'd had about 4 months in Luanda, Angola at that point and my dad's boss was very concerned that my brother and I would see Africa as nothing more than the war-torn, poverty stricken mess that surrounded us in Luanda. A sidenote, Africa is soooo much more than the war-torn poverty stricken messy pictures you see... it's beautiful in so many ways even in the middle of that mess. But that's another story.
My parents agreed that we needed to explore all the continent has to offer and we booked our first safari in Botswana. My mom spent a ton of time researching where to go and what safari camps would accept kids and where you could go to see what animals and which ones had what tactics to keep the lions out at night (no joke). We flew (I think) into Maun and then took a small private plane to the first game camp.
 |
| My Dad, Safari Guide, my brother, my mom and me next to a fully outfitted safari Land Cruiser |
When we landed the guide picked us up in one of the safari trucks and drove us back to the camp. On the way my mom started telling the guide about how she really wanted my brother to see a giraffe because he'd never seen one, even in the zoo. Sure enough we rounded the corner and there were probably 7 giraffes eating. Turns out giraffes in the Moremi Game Reserve are pretty common.
As it turns out, so was pretty much everything else we wanted to see. During the first few days at that camp we saw lions, antelope, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, a dead zebra being fed on by a cheetah and vultures, hyenas, more giraffes, elephants, and a ostrich. For a couple kids from Alaska (where the zoo's exotic animal is two tigers) it was pretty awesome.
But this is the story of how we saw the pangolin.
We finished our time at the Mombo camp and moved on to Duba camp. This was a smaller camp with just us and two gay lawyers from New York when we arrived. As a note, these camps are luxury affairs. This was 'glamping' before the term even existed. Kids were not common. Most people don't pay that much to take their 12 and 9 year old on a safari. Most people don't move their kids to Angola either. What I remember most is that the staff at that camp loved my brother and me. They even made us a cake the last night (it might have been an apology for the next series of events however).
We woke up the first morning early and had breakfast then headed out in the safari vehicle to see what we could see. Every car has a driver, a spotter who sits on the hood and looks for animals and a guide and then usually two or three rows of seats for guests. As we were leaving, the driver had a little trouble starting the car and remarked that we couldn't turn it off. The other car was leaving to go for supplies and was unavailable. We headed out.
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| The Pangolin! Look at that cute little face. |
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| Spotter with Pangolin all curled up |
What happened next, is less fortunate. In his excitement over the pangolin, our driver turned off the car. Remember him saying we couldn't turn the car off? Of course, it was too late at that point. The car was off. It wasn't turning back on. They radioed the camp. The other car was still a few hours away from being able to get us. But it's okay, we're Alaskans (and two gay New Yorkers) we know how to take care of ourselves in this situation. We stayed near the car. My parents sent my brother and I to start getting together wood to make a fire since it was starting to get dark (with the New Yorkers commenting on how impressive it was we knew things like this). The fire would have been a great idea if we could get it started. I remember standing there trying to light something on fire when my mom called me back to the car. I looked up and all I could see were glowing red eyes all around me. Hyenas. Naturally. I slowly returned back to the car.
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| Jeremy and me with Pangolin, still curled up and completely terrified |
Plus, an awesome story about how we saw a super rare animal that no one has ever heard of. Except now you have! You should also know that they trafficked by the TON in southeast Asia for absolutely no good reason. They are really the most harmless animal you never expected to exist. I really hope they hang in there long enough for my kids to have their own pangolin story someday.
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