Actually, they received 0.0.20, showing that perhaps a bit of research into their care should be done before we just up and decide to collect them. Not much backup if the population declines, is it? And one facility isn't really "zoological facilities across the USA." The pangolins didn't exactly do so well either, and while it seems there's a new holding facility from one of your previous posts, the overall population would be less than imported, without the births. It's currently less than the beginning of this year.
It appears at least a third of those in AZA possession have passed since being acquired last year. To be fair, because they were wild collected, who knows what condition they were in when they arrived. The youngsters appear to still be around for the most part.
If done properly, they could be in very good condition- another reason why extra precautions should have been taken before preceding.
It is also worth pointing out that inasmuch as these were wild-caught specimens, there would not have been any realistic understanding of their age upon capture. Thus, you can reasonably expect that the average age of the imported animals was the median age for the species in nature. Add to that, the most conservative of estimates state that one pangolin is poached in less than an hour, each day, 24/7-- and has been so for many years. The sum total of all the pangolins imported by the Pangolin Consortium, founded in 2016, would have been poached in less than two days.
Here's the original source where the author is listed: U.S. zoos learn how to keep captive pangolins alive, helping wild ones There is a response to the article posted at the bottom as well, from two members of the pangolin conservation community.
