Protecting the Ghost of the Bushveld

As poaching takes on pandemic proportions, the plight of pangolins across Africa is dire. Thank goodness for people like Professor Ray Jansen, who are fighting tooth and nail to save these seldom-seen creatures.

- By Toast Coetzer

Ray Jansen’s alert, dark eyes scan the trees for an early summer migrant bird, then they flick to distant hills where the November sun is already warming up this part of Limpopo. Ray is a scientist but he’s also streetwise; he’s used to sitting in an office yet he’s completely at home in the bush. He has a no-nonsense attitude, and he needs it, for the odds are stacked against him and his colleagues – a diverse range of researchers, conservationists, wildlife vets and police officers, all of whom play a role in battling the poaching of Temminck’s pangolin (ground pangolin) in South Africa.

At times, Ray actively gets involved in sting operations. This is how it typically plays out: Word gets around that there’s a pangolin for sale. Ray and the police discuss tactics before reaching out to the poachers, pretending to be interested buyers. This contact person is often Ray himself. He’s the one who will receive a shaky cellphone video clip taken in some backyard. The bedraggled pangolin is held up to view, with a copy of that day’s newspaper next to it to prove the currency of the clip; to show that the pangolin is still alive. A price is agreed upon, then a meeting place. If all goes to plan, the police swoop in at the right moment and one more pangolin escapes the illegal trade.