MEET THE AUTHOR

The pangolin’s scales, meant to protect the animal against predators, are what puts it most at risk – trade in pangolin “products” has earned this shy animal the title of most trafficked mammal in the world. In Pangolins – Scales of Injustice, conservationist Richard Peirce details the rescue and release of a pangolin poached in Zimbabwe, and investigates the wildlife trade in China and South East Asia.

Where did your interest in wildlife and conservation begin? I suspect it stems from never having grown out of childhood interests! Like many boys, I was attracted to predators and large animals: sharks, lions, tigers, elephants, and whales. In adult life, I have been privileged to spend a lot of time in wild places and encounter the species that captivated me as a child.

I am nearly as old as The Rolling Stones – I’ve been around a while. In the last four decades, I have become increasingly aware of the extinction threat facing many species. Humans are not the only ones with a right to live on earth.

So, because I was born to be a bloody nuisance, I became a wildlife author and campaigner!

Why are you specifically passionate about pangolin conservation? When pangolins earned the dubious title of the world’s most trafficked mammal, my anger kicked in and I knew that my next book would have to be about them.

I am a writer so I am not often lost for words, but there is an almost mysterious aura to these animals – they have an amazing effect on humans. Their eyes are calm, wise, vulnerable and engaging, all at the same time. Different cultures all over Africa have special relationships with pangolins. One of the forewords to the book is written by Izak Kruiper, a Khomani San elder who lives in the Kalahari. Listening to him talk about pangolins was entrancing.

For some inexplicable reason – or for many reasons – these animals are magical.

How did you approach your research? All my books tell true stories about real animals, although certain parts are fictionalised for legal reasons or to protect people’s identities. I get to know the animals and then the project takes on a personal dimension.

My research is always as precise as it can be, and when I go into fiction it is always based on a fact, or likely fact, and checked by those involved.

What was the most exciting part of writing this book? I can answer in just four words: Meeting my first pangolin.

And the biggest challenge? It’s always the same: Doing justice to the subject. I’m a storyteller and my job has four stages. First, I have to find an animal or a species that will benefit from increased awareness. Second, I have to find a story to tell that works. The third part is actually telling the story, and the fourth part is the follow-up: Using the book, its launch, and my radio and TV work based on the book, to bang the drum for the species concerned.

Why are pangolins so sought-after in countries like China and Vietnam? In recent decades, pangolins have been used for their leather, flesh and scales. The leather is prized in some Asian countries; I was offered pangolin meat for lunch in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam; and their scales have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years to treat a variety of conditions, from lactation difficulties to arthritis.

However, there are some hopeful signs that demand may reduce. In a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese have clamped down on trade in wild animals and parts, and removed pangolin scales from their official list of medicines.

Tell us more about the link between pangolins and Covid-19. SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19 – is the third SARS virus this century to jump from animals to humans. The first was simply known as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which first appeared in 2002 and mainly affected people in China and South East Asia, although there was also a significant outbreak in Canada. The second virus was called MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It is thought that the first SARS virus came to humans from bats, via civet cats sold in China’s wet food markets. MERS is believed to have come via camels, and Covid-19 from bats to humans via Sunda pangolins (also known as Malayan or Javan pangolin) in the same markets. The agent through which a virus passes to humans is called a vector, and the bulk of scientific opinion is that the Sunda pangolin is the probable vector for Covid-19.

What do you want readers to take away from your book? I hope that people will gain more insight into pangolins, which will raise awareness about their plight and help put more pressure on the governments of China and countries in South East Asia to ban the trade in endangered wildlife.

What will your next project be about? My documentary film, Lions, Bones & Bullets, will have its first private showings in mid-October. It’s a thorough investigation into lion farming in South Africa and the lion bone trade. Watch out for it.

Pangolins – Scales of Injustice is published by Struik Nature and costs R160 in bookstores. Also available as an e-book at takealot.com