Everyone’s talking about ... PANGOLINS

Why are they news? THEY are not in the news nearly enough, according to Prince William, David Attenborough and Boris Johnson, who warn that these ‘scaly anteaters’ are in danger of extinction. So BoJo’s worried . . . YES, he sported a ‘Protect the Pangolin’ T-shirt jogging this week with Aussie counterpart Julie Bishop (pictured below), who was in one, too. What are they? TOOTHLESS and with poor eyesight, they are found mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, but are shy and elusive. Their tongue is massive — at 15in, it dwarfs the rest of their body. Not harmful then . . . ACTUALLY, when threatened they roll into a ball and lash out at predators with their scaly tail, which cuts through skin like a razor-sharp knife. Their keratin scales are so hard even a lion’s bite won’t hurt them. Why are they at risk? IN CHINA and Vietnam, their meat is a delicacy chopped into soup. They are the world’s most illegally trafficked mammal. The scales are (wrongly) thought to cure asthma, rheumatism, arthritis and impotence. A bleak future, then? ALL eight species are endangered, two critically. Poachers are killing them at a rate of 100,000 a year. Their scales sell for nearly £3,000 a kilogram. How many are left? HARD to say. Despite being around for millions of years, little research has been done into them. It’s believed they live for around 20 years. What’s William doing? AS president of the United For Wildlife charity, he’s promoted a computer game to teach kids about the pangolins’ plight. How can I help? THERE’S a non-profit website,

savepangolins.org, and the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) is at worldwildlife.org.