Hi, I’m Maria Diekmann, founder of Pangolins International, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of pangolins … which are becoming increasingly endangered every single day.
We take in rescue pangolins, rehabilitate them and release them back into their natural environment, where we need to be able to track them and monitor their wellbeing. With your help, we can raise the funds to buy small tracking devices that won’t interfere with the pangolins or affect their natural behaviour. Our fundraising target is $15,000, and every penny we receive will be put to good use in our efforts to save these incredible creatures.
Estimates suggest that pangolins could easily become extinct by 2030 due to the devastating effects of poaching – the epicentre of which is Nigeria. To be better placed to combat the effects of poaching, we’ve just established our new headquarters in Nigeria’s Emerald Forest Reserve, and we're excited to already be able to help our first rescue, a beautiful pangolin pup of around 12 weeks old. We're committed to doing everything we can to give this little one – and many more like him – the best possible chance of a long and healthy life. Small, unobtrusive and reliable tracking devices will help us do exactly that.
To show our appreciation for your support, we're offering rewards at different donation levels. So not only will you be making a difference in the fight to save pangolins, you'll also be receiving something special in return:
| Donation | Reward |
| $3+ | A heartfelt "Thank You!" from all at Pangolins International (including pup!) |
| $10+ | An exclusive high-res printable digital photo of pup – the perfect gift! |
| $50+ | As above + a personal "Thank You" video from Maria and pup |
| $100+ | All the above + a free NiFTy Pangolins NFT and the chance to give pup a name! |
| $250+ | All the above + a Certificate of Sponsorship of 1 acre of the Emerald Forest Reserve |
| $500+ | All the above + exclusive camera trap photos and videos from your sponsored acre |
| $1000+ | All the above + a copy of Maria's new book, Pangolins In My Life |
About your rewards
Rewards are cumulative, with each band also receiving rewards from all the previous bands. Our campaign will end on January 20th 2023, and we'll begin sending rewards 7 days afterwards.
Exclusive digital image of pup
Donate $10 or more and we'll email you a printable high-res photo of pup. Your photo will make the perfect gift for your bestie: email it to them, get it printed on a greetings card or print it and frame it for them! Whichever way you give it, we're sure they'll love to receive a gift that's helping to make such a huge difference to the conservation of pangolins.
Personal video
Donate $50 or more and you'll receive a personal video from pup and me in the Emerald Forest, thanking you for your kind donation.
NiFTy Pangolins NFT – PLUS the chance to give pup a name!
NiFTy Pangolins is a collection of 11,000 unique digital art NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), created specifically to help raise funds for Pangolins International. An NFT is a unique, digital asset that represents ownership of a piece of art and can be bought and sold on a blockchain, typically providing buyers with a way to collect and own unique, digital works. The NiFTy Pangolins collection addresses the issue of illegal trafficking with the tagline: To evade poachers, 11,000 pangolins have dressed up as humans – but they're not particularly good at dressing themselves. Obviously. Donate $100 or more and you'll receive your very own NiFTy Pangolins art NFT ... PLUS the chance to give pup a name in an exclusive competition only for NiFTy Pangolins NFT holders. Just enter your name suggestion on the donation form and we'll announce our favourite on Jan 27th. You can see some example NFT art nearer the bottom of this page.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Donate $250 or more and you'll receive a Certificate of Sponsorship of 1 square acre of the Emerald Forest Reserve, along with its coordinates, allowing you to see exactly where it's located. Your donation will also help us manage that acre and keep it in the perfect condition for pangolins and other native animals and plants.
Camera trap photos and videos
Donate $500 or more and we'll also send you regular exclusive camera trap photos and videos from your sponsored acre, and hopefully some very special wildlife shots will be coming your way!
My new book
Donate $1000 or more and you'll also receive a hardcopy of my new book, Pangolins In My Life, which documents my adventure for the past two decades working with pangolins and starting to learn their secrets.
About the tracking devices
There are several types of tracking devices that can be used to study the movement and behaviour of pangolins, but we’re restricted in what we can use because of the size of the animals. Radio and GPS collars are heavy and can impede the pangolin’s natural behaviour, so we’re looking to use a combination of VHF and GPS transmitters that can be attached to a single pangolin scale. These are good for grown pangolins (further down the page you can see a VHF tracker attached to a juvenile pangolin scale), but we’re still looking for a reliable solution for younger pangolins with smaller scales. Tracking devices are used in combination with camera traps to gather data about a pangolin’s behaviour and habitat use. Even though they are relatively expensive, being able to attach a tracking device to all the rehabilitated pangolins we release into the wild is essential, and will help us protect them long after they've left our conservation centre.
And finally...
We hope that you'll join us in our mission to protect these amazing animals. Every donation, no matter the size, is extremely valuable to us and will make a real difference in our battle to bring pangolins back from the brink of extinction. Thank you for considering a contribution to Pangolins International. Together, we can make a difference
Love,
M
PS: I'm calling him "Pang" at the moment, but he really, really needs a proper name, so if you have some great ideas, please make sure you select the relevant donation amount – we really want to hear them! :-)