UK Sends Sniffer Dogs to Thailand

Buster and Bess, who have been trained by British police, are to be flown to Thailand to help crack down on the smuggling of critically endangered pangolins, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said. The pair will use their sniffing skills to detect pangolins being smuggled through airports, ports and by road.

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A background from IFAW, a non-profit animal welfare site

Pangolins, nocturnal creatures famed for their full armor of scales, are the most trafficked mammal in the world according to the World Wildlife Fund, and all eight species are on the red list of threatened species and at risk of extinction, the ZSL said.

Pangolins are a unique group of insect-eating animals, feeding mainly on termites and ants. They may look like reptiles, with their bodies covered in overlapping scales, but they are actually mammals. Pangolins are about the size of a house cat, with small heads, long snouts, and thick tails. These prehistoric mammals, which have been around for 80 million years, are now threatened with extinction.

Pangolins are the only mammals in the world that are covered in scales. Their scales are made of keratin — the same material that makes fingernails and hair.

Native to Africa and Asia, Pangolins scan be found in woodland and savanna habitats. The tree-climbing species make homes in hollow trees. Those that live on the ground, nest in deep burrows.

Pangolins are sometimes called scaly anteaters. They can use their tongues, which can extend to 40 cm or 16 inches, to catch ants, termites, larvae, and other small insects. One pangolin alone is capable of eating around 70 million insects per year.