Pangolin.Africa is a registered non-profit organisation dedicated to the survival of the most highly trafficked wildlife species on earth – the African pangolin.
Conservationists estimate that one pangolin is poached from the wild every five minutes due to the huge demand from the African and Asian traditional medicine markets. The decimation of the Asian species has seen a dramatic spike in demand for the African pangolin.
In response to this crisis, Pangolin.Africa has adopted a three-pronged approach of Publicity, Participation and Protection to achieve its mission of saving all four species of African pangolin. The organisation works with partners in the tourism, conservation and corporate fields with the aim of:
- Improving education and awareness around all four African pangolin species
- Encouraging participation through citizen science initiatives such as Pangolert which supports research efforts through the gathering of critical population and distribution data
- Implementing protection and rehabilitation projects on the ground
The organization also supports conservation partners across Africa who are working on research, protection and rehabilitation of African pangolins.
The situation facing the African pangolin is critical. It has reached a tipping point and if we don’t act now, this animal could disappear in our lifetime.
Find out more at pangolin.africa
Empowers Africa has partnered with Pangolin.Africa in order to provide a cost-effective solution to fundraising in the United States by acting as their fiscal sponsor. Any donations made here will be granted to Pangolin.Africa.
Empowers Africa uses Stripe to process credit card donations. Stripe has very stringent security rules which may lead to declined credit card transactions. If you are experiencing trouble processing your donation, kindly contact Nadia Derelieva at (917) 328-1611 or via email: nadia@empowersafrica.org
Pangolin.Africa Campaigns
Pangolin-Friendly Farm Fence Project
Electric fences help control of animal movement on game reserves, private game farms and commercial farms – ensuring livestock and wildlife stay in the confines of the farm and unwanted predators and people are kept out. Although economical and effective, electric fences also result in the electrocution of non-targeted species, including pangolins. It is estimated that between 436 and 1,190 pangolins are inadvertently killed each year in southern Africa on electrified fences.
Pangolin.Africa is working with private landowners, in consultation with a leading, regional electric fencing company, to modify existing fencing to significantly and measurably reduce the number of pangolin mortalities. While this is initially being run as a pilot project, we envision that – should it prove successful – the concept can be rolled out at scale across southern Africa.
Funding is needed to support the development a proof of concept, test the concept, and implement it at three sites across South Africa. This process involves adding a component to every 6 miles of fencing to make it possible to control parts of the fence separately so that the bottom two strands (generally where pangolins get stuck) can be switched off when resistance in the fence is picked up. This will keep the top part of the fence intact ensuring that the basic functionality remains the same.
The success of the project will be monitored through field observation during which pangolin tracks and behaviour around electric fences will be observed and recorded.
Help us rehabilitate pangolins rescued from electric fencing
We are establishing a small rehabilitation facility in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, for pangolins rescued from electric fencing – a common feature on game and livestock farms in the region.
The facility is run by a veterinary nurse who volunteers her time and expertise but needs financial support to cover some of her hard costs. These include building a larger enclosure to house pangolins during their rehabilitation; petrol to drive within a 70 mile radius of the farm to collect rescued pangolins; travelling more than 150 miles to a nearby town for veterinary consultations, medicine and feeding tubes; facilitating informative workshops with local farmers to encourage their support of the project; and DNA testing on deceased animals.
Every dollar we receive will help lessen her expenses. Our goal is to raise USD4,500 per year to enable her to continue this critical work in this very remote part of the country.
Buy essential gear for a pangolin researcher
Pangolins are enigmatic creatures and very challenging to monitor – especially the nocturnal species who only step out after dark. Camera traps and tracking devices are the best tools to help researchers learn more about them and understand their behaviour.
Camera traps provide an insight into their secret lives and supply invaluable data on distribution, feeding and other activities. With every USD350 raised we can purchase a camera trap and courier it to one of our research partners across Africa who are in need of this special equipment.
Fitting pangolins with tracking devices is often the only way conservationists can continue to monitor rehabilitated pangolins after their release. For USD550 we can fit a transmitter to a pangolin and track them to ensure their successful reintegration back into the wild.
Read more about what gear Pangolin researchers need at pangolin.africa
Help us show our ground-breaking new film to kids in Africa
We have produced a ground-breaking new film, Eye of the Pangolin, about the critical situation facing the African pangolin.
We’ve launched an intensive educational campaign for Eye of the Pangolin, to take the film to rural schools in areas where poaching may be a community livelihood or cultural practice. With your help, we can broaden the reach of our campaign to even more schools in Africa. Each school visit includes:
- A screening of an 8-minute version of the film
- An interactive discussion with the learners facilitated by our education staff
- Awarding of a special ‘pangolin protector’ badge and a pledge form for each child, challenging them to each tell 10 people about pangolins – thereby expanding the reach tenfold
- Follow up with the school after a month to assess learners’ understanding and attitude changes
For every USD350 raised we can show the film to 100 children at a school.
General Donations
If you do not have any specific project in mind and wish the organization to use their own discretion, please click here.
Donations can also be made by check or wire transfer:
Checks should be made out to “Empowers Africa” and should be mailed to:
Empowers Africa
2 Beekman Place, Ste. 18B
New York, NY 10022
www.empowersafrica.org
(917) 328-1611
Kindly note in the memo section of the check that funds are for Pangolin.Africa and indicate a specific program if applicable. Or email us at info@empowersafrica.org.
For wire transfer details or more information, please email us at info@empowersafrica.org.
Empowers Africa has been approved as a U.S. public charity, contributions to which are tax deductible for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Section 501(c)(3) [EIN: 32-0403737] of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
Thank you for your support!