The pangolin is in need of a PR campaign

Do you know what a pangolin is? An instrument, guessed one friend. Term for a baby panda, perhaps? A tropical fruit grown in Indonesia, was another oddly specific response.

I've been conducting this haphazard survey ever since I came across the pangolin in a story about an illegal wild animal trafficking operation.

While having a low profile with the general public, it seems the pangolin is well-known in the black market trade in dead or live animals. That's right, the pangolin is an animal. Imagine an aardvark with an even more impressive suit of armor and an endearing habit of curling up into a tight ball.