What does the 21st February 2026 mean to you?

Well, it's a very exciting day for pangolins!   These shy, elusive animals have their own special day.  You see, they are not very well known animals - many people have never heard of them - but they are important in ecosystems. 

You see, pangolins eat termites and ants and so help stop these little mites destroying forests.  They are essential to a healthy ecosystem for all of us. But pangolins are considered to be the most trafficked mammal on earth today, thanks to a demand for their meat and scales. You'll find them in some parts of Africa and Asia.   

There are lots of efforts ongoing to protect pangolins and this year, 2026, the theme of World Pangolin Day is Guardians in Action.  It recognises the conservation professionals and community members who are involved in rescue operations and rehabilitation programmes, as well as habitat monitoring and public awareness campaigns.

One of the problems pangolins have is that many people have never heard of them, or have heard of them but don't kow what they look like, or know anything about them.   World Pangolin Day gives us all a chance to do three things:

1. Learn about pangolins.  This video from the Zoological Society of London will tell you more:
   
   
   
   
2. Be their PR agents and spread the word about them!   We can follow the event on social media #WorldPangolinDay #pangolinconservation
   
   
3. Find out how we can help pangolins - there's a list of pangolin charities here.  
   
   
4. We can also do fun pangolin activities - have you tried to draw a pangolin?  Just take a pen and paper and give it a go!  Christine Elder on You Tube has a video called "How to Sketch a Pangolin".