Coronavirus: Pangolin revenge of the world's most poached mammal due to its scales and to its flesh?

english / français ### Hopefully, the suspicion of being the vector of the coronavirus to humans will reduce its poaching! The pangolin is a solitary, insectivorous, toothless mammal with an elongated body covered in scales except on the belly and under the tail. The tips of its feet are provided with large claws for burrowing into termite mounds, anthills and decaying tree trunks and drilling cavities to remove termites, ants and their larvae, which are the main part of its diet, with the help of its very long, sticky tongue. It is able to walk on its hind legs (as an adult), using its prehensile tail for balance like gibbon monkeys. It walks on the outside of its front wrists to protect the very sharp claws on the fingertips from wearing down. The female is usually smaller and has a pair of udders. Also solitary, she meets a male only to mate and has a single offspring per year. If danger, they place their head between their hind legs, curling up into a ball exposing only their sharp scales. Pangolins are the most poached mammals in the world because of the therapeutic or aphrodisiac virtues, infounded by their scales in some traditional cultures, and the quality of their flesh.
In Gabon, a country in equatorial Africa, three species are present:
The Giant pangolin (Manis gigantea) with a long muzzle and a thick tail. It weighs 30-40 kg and measures 140 cm including the tail.. It is nocturnal and only terrestrial and therefore does not climb trees. It is a good swimmer.
The White-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) is an arboreal and terrestrial pangolin, diurnal and nocturnal, covered with fine scales with three tips. Each foot has five long curved claws. It weighs 1.5-2.0 kg and measures 80 cm including the tail.
The Long-tailed Pangolin (Manis tetradactyla / four long curved claws ) is a diurnal arboreal pangolin. It weighs 2.0-2.5 kg and measures 100 cm including the tail. Its long prehensile tail can support its body. It feeds mainly on ants and their larvae found inside nests made of dried interlaced between tree branches, in hollow trees, or in the hollow stems of a small tree Barteria fistulosa, home to colonies of extremely aggressive ants with very painful stings. In Gabon, this tree is also known as the "adultery tree" because its ants (tetraponera), which protect "their" tree against possible aggressors, react to the slightest shock: unfaithful wives are therefore attached to its foot as a punishment. As my trap cameras are not placed in the trees, I have never filmed this pangolin during the day and at night.
-------------
Le pangolin est un mammifère, solitaire, insectivore, édenté au corps allongé recouvert en grande partie d'écailles excepté sur le ventre et sous la queue. Les extrémités de ses pattes sont pourvues de griffes de grande taille capables d'éventrer les termitières, les fourmilières, les troncs d’arbre en décomposition et d’y forer les cavités pour retirer, à l’aide de sa très longue langue gluante, les termites, les fourmis et leurs larves représentant l’essentiel de son alimentation. Il marche sur l'extérieur des poignets avant pour protéger ses griffes très acérées au bout de ses pattes avant. La femelle est plus petite et possède une paire de mamelles. Elle ne rencontre un mâle que pour copuler et n’a qu’un descendant par an. En cas de danger, ils placent la tête entre les pattes arrière, s'enroulent pour devenir une boule couverte d’écailles. Les pangolins sont les mammifères les plus braconnés au monde en raison des vertus thérapeutiques ou aphrodisiaques infondées de leurs écailles dans certaines cultures traditionnelles et de la qualité de sa chair.
Au Gabon, pays d’Afrique équatoriale, trois espèces sont présentes :
Le pangolin géant (Manis gigantea) avec un long museau et une queue épaisse : 30-40 kg, 140 cm queue comprise, nocturne, uniquement terrestre car ne grimpe pas aux arbres. Il est un bon nageur.
Le Pangolin commun (Phataginus tricuspis) : 1,5-2,0 kg, 80 cm queue comprise, arboricole et terrestre, diurne et nocturne, couvert d’écailles fines dotées de trois pointes. Chaque pied possède cinq longues griffes.
Le Pangolin à longue queue (Manis tetradactyla) 2,0-2,5 kg, 100 cm queue comprise, arboricole et diurne. Il se nourrit essentiellement de fourmis et de leurs larves trouvées à l’intérieur de nids faits avec des feuilles séchées entrelacées entre des branches d’arbre, dans les arbres creux ou encore, dans les tiges creuses d’un petit arbre le Barteria fistulosa abritant des colonies de fourmis extrêmement agressives aux piqûres très douloureuses. Celui-ci porte également, au Gabon, le nom « arbre à adultère » car ses fourmis (tetraponera) protégeant “leur” arbre contre les agresseurs éventuels, réagissent au moindre choc : Les épouses infidèles y sont attachées à en guise de punition. Mes caméras pièges n’étant pas placées dans les arbres, mais au sol, je n’ai pas de fin de ce troisième pangolin présent au Gabon : Pangolin à longue queue

[@christianvigna]

Bravo Superbe reportage

[@ShayariHind]

Nice Video Good Sharing

[@RBentures]

Interesting!

[@itsDEWgan]

Randy Marsh: 😐

[@shobanak4480]

Beautiful mother nature

[@CodySmiley]

Look's amazing!

[@XHB06400CANNES]

A comment like yours is comforting after my wife and I have spent days alone in the Gabonese forest to maintain our mirrors and many photographic traps, change memory cards, batteries, clean lenses, remove fallen branches in their field of vision, walk up the creek beds to find areas where the animals cross to install new traps etc... Soaked by tornadoes, the body is covered with insect bites of all kinds (horse flies, gorilla flies, tsetse flies, black ants, magnan ants etc.) and unfortunately the number of cameras refusing to work is increasing due to the 95% humidity level. This is a choice. Thanks again. Check out my other homemade videos of the channel and don't forget to read the attached description each time. You will learn very important information. kzbin.infovideos

[@XHB06400CANNES]

Most KZbinrs don't read my descriptions attached to each of my videos, so I wanted to innovate by inserting explanations on the images themselves. I think that when editing the video, I didn't adapt the time available to read each text to the length of each one. What do you think about this?

[@welowee7610]

Nature strikes back

[@tomjones7089]

Excellent video!

[@XHB06400CANNES]

A comment like yours is comforting after my wife and I have spent days alone in the Gabonese forest to maintain our mirrors and many photographic traps, change memory cards, batteries, clean lenses, remove fallen branches in their field of vision, walk up the creek beds to find areas where the animals cross to install new traps etc... Soaked by tornadoes, the body is covered with insect bites of all kinds (horse flies, gorilla flies, tsetse flies, black ants, magnan ants etc.) and unfortunately the number of cameras refusing to work is increasing due to the 95% humidity level. This is a choice. Thanks again. Check out my other homemade videos of the channel and don't forget to read the attached description each time. You will learn very important information. kzbin.infovideosMost KZbinrs don't read my descriptions attached to each of my videos, so I wanted to innovate by inserting explanations on the images themselves. I think that when editing the video, I didn't adapt the time available to read each text to the length of each one. What do you think about this?

[@tomjones7089]

@@XHB06400CANNES Think it was great, to say the least! 👍

[@XHB06400CANNES]

​@@tomjones7089 May I invite you to watch especially my videos which, unfortunately, have a very small number of views and are very informative like: First mud bath of an cute new born elephant with her mom and aunts: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKHNYomcoLN9iZY Fresh Water from Creeks triggers the urge to urinate in wild mammals: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ep3YenSvbNBjopo Eaters of waterlilies: Buffalo, Elephant, Sitatunga: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXqraGmjfq6imJY Can an elephant survive without half of its trunk lost in a poacher's wire snare? kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6CcmIqfbdWNp6c Before buying ivory jewellery or carved ivory objects: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJPYhZ1tpbOpfq8 and unfortunately there are many others in this case! Good vision! Thank you again.

[@drandy.youtubechannel1436]

Well done , if can contain the third one , it will be perfect 👍👍👍

[@madeleinepauron4062]

C'est l'une des meilleures vidéos sur les pangolin 🇬🇦🇬🇦🇬🇦🇬🇦

[@XHB06400CANNES]

Je vous remercie pour votre compliment. Je suis très heureux d'avoir pu photographier un début de copulation chez des pangolins géants à 22:04:27 mais je regrette que la photo précédente à 22:04:17 ne montre que le couple entrant par la gauche dans le champ de vision de la caméra (un sans la queue et le second que la tête) et que la suivante à 22:04:40 ne montre que les dos et queues des deux pangolins en train de sortir du champ de vision par la droite. *_One hypothesis put forward on the origin of the coronavirus would be a wild animal present in a game market in Wuhan where many pangolins are sold. If this epidemic had at least the benefit of curbing the consumption of its meat and reducing poaching in West and Equatorial Africa where these manids regulate termite and ant populations_* Une hypothèse émise sur origine du coronavirus serait un animal sauvage présent dans un marché au gibier de Wuhan où de nombreux pangolins sont vendus. Si cette épidémie avait au moins le bienfait de freiner la consommation de sa viande et de réduire son braconnage en Afrique occidentale et équatoriale où ces manidés régulent les populations de termites et de fourmis. Continuez à regarder les 160 vidéos faites maison publiées sur ma chaine : kzbin.infovideos et n'oubliez pas de lire chaque description jointe à chacune des vidéos.

[@madeleinepauron4062]

@@XHB06400CANNES Oui en effet mais le pangolin et protéger et l'espèce prospère au gabon grâce a nos belle forêt qui sont protégées et qui recouvre 87% de notre territoire

[@madeleinepauron4062]

@@XHB06400CANNES je pense que vue que c'est et HEUREUSEMENT une espèce protégée par le gabon le coronavirus peut moins ce répondre mais même si en et pas sur que sa vienne du pangolin mais je pense que l'humain mérite cette maladie

[@madeleinepauron4062]

L'homme mérite de mourire

[@ismailErbulan]

👏👏

[@sandywilhelm5492]

I hope that the human doesn’t retaliate by killing all they can find. They’re interesting looking and so beneficial. It seems at times the human tends to act without thinking about the consequences. Loved the video.

[@anoniem4524]

This channel deserves more attention. amazing footage!

[@XHB06400CANNES]

*_Such a comment is a great reward for my wife Anne-Marie, my friend Michel and me. We are not comfortably sitting in our armchairs, to publish without any description, pieces of videos copied from the Internet and put end to end. But we maintain our trap cameras, some facing huge mirrors set up in a remote area of the Gabonese virgin forest and collect their memory card. Then we do the editing with for each one a description in English which is not our native language and then put them online to show the beauty of Gabonese fauna, talk about poachers, show how elephants who have managed to get away from a wire snare trap, treat the deep cut made by this trap, show how elephants pick mangos, self recognition in mirrors that is not innate both among humans than among primates and other mammals and so on..._* Keep watching the other videos on my channel kzbin.infovideos Please read the description attached to each of my videos you will know very interesting informations about animals reactions front of my mirrors in the jungle ! May I invite you to watch especially my videos which, unfortunately, have a very small number of views and are very informative like: First mud bath of an cute new born elephant with her mom and aunts: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKHNYomcoLN9iZY Fresh Water from Creeks triggers the urge to urinate in wild mammals: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ep3YenSvbNBjopo Eaters of waterlilies: Buffalo, Elephant, Sitatunga: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXqraGmjfq6imJY Can an elephant survive without half of its trunk lost in a poacher's wire snare? kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6CcmIqfbdWNp6c Before buying ivory jewellery or carved ivory objects: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJPYhZ1tpbOpfq8 and unfortunately there are many others in this case! Good vision! Thank you again.

[@anoniem4524]

@@XHB06400CANNES I've started watching some of the footage, the Leopard doing those exporiments with the mirror was really interesting. I looked trough a lot of the comments and i didnt see anyone else noticing it, but at 2.52 (leopard long version) he picks up a leaf with his mouth and glimpses the mirror. It's exactly on the moment the footage changes to the next scene. Anyway, very interesting footage!

[@mesofius]

They look like dinosaurs :)

[@andrewherman2537]

Xavier, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mimongo (La Ngounie). I have a degree in Biology and would love to do conservation when I retire in 5 years. Any suggestions or upcoming projects that I could start my new career on?

[@XHB06400CANNES]

Manager of the GABOPRIX/CECADO chain of stores for many years, I have been in the town of Mimongo about 20 times and on several occasions with my wife we took the liana bridge to get to the SEEG district. We are neither scientists nor veterinarians nor primatologists nor photographers. We wanted to thank Gabon, which has welcomed our family for more than 35 years, to show on KZbin the diversity of the fauna of this beautiful country and to make Internet users want to visit it. Our first videos posted on our KZbin channel essentially showed wildlife "passing" in front of the lenses of our trap cameras equipped with motion detectors: The passage of an elephant in front of the objective of a trap for about twenty seconds is not particularly interesting. On the other hand, a video of young elephants playing in a river while adults are quenching their thirst is much more enjoyable to watch. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5zQgXWiabODrJo (In Gabon front of trap cameras, elephants crossing Ndouni River). To find such "spots" it is advisable to get further away from the path used by the few 4x4 vehicles of Nyonié, to go deeper into the forest and to walk in the beds of creeks and small rivers. This is not safe, especially when you are old. To progress more easily in the forest, animals use this off-road trail, without vines, bushes, brambles and trees mixed on the ground because of the very numerous tornadoes in this region on the Equator line. We came up with the idea of placing very large mirrors at the end of a long straight line of an off-road track to catch their eyes and "block" them in front of their image. We have also placed other mirrors under trees where numerous animals appreciate the fruits. At other locations in the middle of the forest it would have been very lucky for animals to meet their reflection. Keep watching my homemade videos (160 pieces) that I put online on my channel and read the description attached to each one of them. You will know very interesting explanations about animals reactions front of my mirrors in the jungle and share its link with your friends: kzbin.infovideos

[@andrewherman2537]

C'est tres interressante. Donc etes vous francais a la retraitement?

[@mcanuysal]

Great footage and amazing animals.. But how do poachers hunt them? They use traps I suppose? It would be very very difficult and dangerous to hunt an animal that roams only night time.

[@XHB06400CANNES]

A giant pangolin always takes the same elephant trails in the jungle. The tracks left by the prints of its hind legs resembling those of baby elephants, the presence of a slight furrow dug by its tail on the ground, allow a poacher to find its burrow and set wire snares. It can also be hunted with a dog and once discovered, as it will curl up into a ball for protection, it will only have to be locked in an empty flour bag to transport it alive without injuring himself.

[@mcanuysal]

@@XHB06400CANNES Oh I see.. Their almost-perfect defensive mechanism makes them vulnerable against humans. So sad..

[@XHB06400CANNES]

@@mcanuysal Exactly their armor are their weak spot.

[@XHB06400CANNES]

Most KZbinrs don't read my descriptions attached to each of my videos, so I wanted to innovate by inserting explanations on the images themselves. I think that when editing the video, I didn't adapt the time available to read each text to the length of each one. What do you think about this?

[@9kpproductions71]

C'est trop beau la forêt de mon gabon au faite c'est dans quel province svp?

[@XHB06400CANNES]

Estuaire ! Avez-vous lu ma description en français jointe (après celle en anglais) à cette vidéo ?

[@oladipupodurotimi4754]

Gabon rainforest. Wish I could know more information about the rainforest leopard’s size in central Africa.

[@XHB06400CANNES]

Most KZbinrs don't read my descriptions attached to each of my videos, so I wanted to innovate by inserting explanations on the images themselves. I think that when editing the video, I didn't adapt the time available to read each text to the length of each one. What do you think about this?In the remote area where I planted my mirrors with an average of five cameras in front of each other and 70 trap cameras outside the area around the mirrors for nearly 9 years, I have noticed a significant increase in the number of leopards and their size. Why? Because small game is more important and thus makes it possible to feed a larger number of leopards. Why is small game more important? Why do red river hogs (bushpig) troops exceed fifty individuals? I, for one, am unable to weigh and measure the size of these leopards. The poachers of this game avoid this region for fear of being photographed by my cameras : Watch this videos kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHrShoBmi9OMpMk Keep watching the other videos on my channel kzbin.infovideos Don't forget to read my description attached to each of my videos: Good vision!

[@jimmyfortrue3741]

I can't get your video to play past the 13 second mark... Anyone else having trouble?

[@XHB06400CANNES]

The first 30 seconds is a still picture with a map of Africa and the introduction to the video. Afterwards a picture slide show with videos begins. As many viewers don't read my attached descriptions, I joint text on the videos itself. The only problem I notice is that often the time available to look at a picture and read the text on it is too short! Not any problem after 13 seconds.

[@jimmyfortrue3741]

@@XHB06400CANNES .. just tried again ( I've tried many times) and it stops for me at 13 seconds... Gave you a thumbs up anyways because you got great videos.

[@mickfunny4185]

jimmy fortrue works for me just fine

[@jimmyfortrue3741]

I just tried again and it played fine. What amazing looking creatures...

[@XHB06400CANNES]

@@jimmyfortrue3741 Thank you for this new comment from one of my most faithful subscriber.

[@colins7771]

Are they only terrestrial?

[@XHB06400CANNES]

I attach a description with more information to each of my 160 video published on my channel. kzbin.infovideos I think if you read my description jointed to this one you will find the answer to your question.

[@colins7771]

unfounded*

[@jpaulstudios5152]

Rules in Gabon no hunting is that right

[@XHB06400CANNES]

The pangolin trade is totally banned in Gabon, only its hunting for personal consumption by villagers is apparently still tolerated. Keep watching the other videos on my channel kzbin.infovideos May I invite you to watch especially my videos which, unfortunately, have a very small number of views and are very informative like: First mud bath of an cute new born elephant with her mom and aunts: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKHNYomcoLN9iZY Fresh Water from Creeks triggers the urge to urinate in wild mammals: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ep3YenSvbNBjopo Eaters of waterlilies: Buffalo, Elephant, Sitatunga: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXqraGmjfq6imJY Can an elephant survive without half of its trunk lost in a poacher's wire snare? kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6CcmIqfbdWNp6c Before buying ivory jewellery or carved ivory objects: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJPYhZ1tpbOpfq8 and unfortunately there are many others in this case! Good vision!

[@HKIHNDKNSI]

The title is implying that all of humanity deserves a pandemic over a certain group of people in a certain part of the world doing bad things with animals, which is mind numbingly stupid and triggering but other than that, nice video

[@XHB06400CANNES]

*_My title_* "revenge of the world's most poached mammal" *_Your interpretation of my title_* "title is implying that all of humanity deserves a pandemic over a certain group of people in a certain part of the world doing bad things with animals, which is mind numbingly stupid and triggering" ???????????????

[@Flowerz__]

Xavier HUBERT-BRIERRE agreed, your title doesn’t “imply” anything.

[@coolman5242]

clickbait title was unnecessary

[@heidikickhouse-]

If I were to guess for a human being I know nothing about, I would say that he meant that we are all right now, all over the world, united in being frustrated pent up broke possibly sick in despair maybe even gaining weight wanting to be in the world stuck in our houses sick of looking at our families and in desperate need of distraction from this Coroavirus. Until I laid off, being responsibly trapped in my house, I'd never heard of this guy and his wife's work and his posting it has given my house hours and hours of new conversational topics, debate (I insist on winning) and mainly video viewing. In fact I think he suggests on some of his videos that they will help pass the "Shelter-At-Home" time. I am pretty sure that's what this title means, although I can also for sure see why you wouldn't know that if you had not seen the rest of his catalogue. I don't know anything about him, but English may not be his 1st language, judging by his comment responses, he appears to speak every language there is, perhaps French is native, who knows, doesn't matter, point being that the title may not have been worded to his intention, but it was certainly not clickbait. I get where you are coming from though, that's why I wanted to explain.