Behind the global conservation effort are individual animals — named, tracked, photographed and cared for by dedicated researchers. These are their stories.
Conservation science depends on individual animals. The behaviour studies, home range data, rehabilitation protocols and population estimates that inform policy are built from months and years spent following specific animals — animals with names, medical records and histories known in detail to the researchers who work with them. Pangolin conservation is no different. From the Kalahari to Cambodia, conservationists have named and monitored pangolins who have contributed directly to scientific understanding and public awareness. This guide profiles some of the most significant named pangolins in the global conservation record.
The African Pangolin Working Group (APWG), based in South Africa, has been the primary organisation rehabilitating and releasing Temminck's ground pangolins (Smutsia temminckii) in southern Africa. Every animal that passes through the rehabilitation programme receives a name, a medical record and, where possible, is fitted with a radio-transmitter for post-release monitoring. Several of these individuals have become widely known through media coverage, wildlife photography and conservation campaigns.
Honey is one of the most photographed pangolins in South African conservation media. A female Temminck's ground pangolin rescued in North West Province after being confiscated from traffickers, she underwent rehabilitation under the care of APWG-affiliated handlers before successful reintegration into a suitable reserve. Her distinctive "uncurling" sequence — photographed at close range by multiple wildlife photographers — became widely circulated in conservation communication materials. Images of Honey were used in APWG fundraising campaigns and in international media coverage of pangolin trafficking in South Africa.
Freya is a female pangolin who became notable for the complexity of her rehabilitation. Rescued as a juvenile after her mother was poached, she required an extended period of hand-rearing that presented significant challenges — juvenile pangolins depend on their mothers for learned foraging behaviour, and replicating this in captivity demands extraordinary patience and expertise from carers. Freya's case contributed directly to improvements in juvenile rehabilitation protocols developed by the APWG, including techniques for gradually introducing live termite and ant colonies and for managing the behavioural imprinting challenges that arise when young pangolins are raised without maternal guidance.
Winston was a male Temminck's ground pangolin rehabilitated by the Tikki Hywood Foundation (THF) in Zimbabwe, one of the longest-running pangolin rehabilitation programmes in Africa. He became a "bush ambassador" — an animal used under controlled conditions to introduce the species to journalists, policymakers and donors visiting the THF facility. Bush ambassador programmes use the emotional impact of a close encounter with a living pangolin to build advocacy and fundraising support. Winston's calm demeanour in the presence of humans (a side-effect of his long rehabilitation) made him particularly effective in this role. He was eventually released into a protected area with radio monitoring.
Popi (derived from ihlosi, a Zulu name sometimes used for pangolin) was one of a cohort of pangolins fitted with satellite tracking devices in a cross-border research project examining home range overlap between South African and Botswanan populations. Popi's movements revealed unexpected long-distance dispersal — the animal covered substantially more ground than previous radio-telemetry studies had suggested, moving across the South Africa–Botswana border and demonstrating that effective pangolin conservation cannot be managed within national boundaries alone. Her tracking data contributed to the scientific basis for transfrontier conservation area (TFCA) management planning.
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in the Northern Cape has been the site of one of the most intensive long-term pangolin field research programmes in Africa, run by the Tswalu Foundation and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). Multiple pangolins at Tswalu have been individually named and tracked over multi-year periods, including animals known internally as M01, M02, F01 (field codes that are often accompanied by descriptive names used by the research team). This programme has generated foundational data on Temminck's ground pangolin home range ecology, seasonal movement, burrow use and thermoregulation that underpins the current scientific understanding of the species.
One female at Tswalu, followed continuously for over two years, provided the first detailed longitudinal data on pangolin mating behaviour, gestation and pup development recorded in a wild setting. Her observations — including the first filmed and documented birth sequence of a Temminck's ground pangolin in the wild — were published in peer-reviewed form and cited in subsequent conservation status assessments by the IUCN.
APWG maintains detailed records of every pangolin that has passed through its rehabilitation programme, including those presenting with snare injuries. Within this cohort, several individuals have become emblematic of the snare threat. One male, given the name Thabo ("joy" in Sesotho) by his rehabilitating carers after surviving a severe snare wound to his rear foot that required partial amputation, was released and subsequently fitted with a radio-transmitter. Post-release monitoring showed that a pangolin with a partial amputation of a rear foot could establish a viable home range and was sighted alive 14 months post-release — evidence that profoundly influenced the rehabilitation team's decision protocols for whether to attempt surgery and release versus euthanasia for severe snare cases.
Wildlife Alliance's rescue and rehabilitation programme in Cambodia has documented numerous individually named Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) confiscated from traders in Phnom Penh markets and at border crossings. One individual — informally called Manis by the care team — became the focus of a short documentary produced by the Wildlife Alliance communications team. The film followed Manis from confiscation through veterinary assessment, captive recovery and eventual release into protected forest in Cardamom Mountains National Park. The film was widely shared on social media and is credited with driving significant donation volume to the Wildlife Alliance during the period of its release.
Chinese pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) are among the rarest and most poorly studied of all pangolin species due to their extreme sensitivity in captivity. Multiple Chinese zoos and research institutes have attempted captive Chinese pangolin programmes. Panggu — named after the mythological creator of the universe in Chinese tradition — was a Chinese pangolin held at a research facility in Guangdong Province that achieved one of the few recorded successful captive births of the species in mainland China. The birth and early pup development, documented in detail, provided rare data on Chinese pangolin reproduction that had not previously been scientifically recorded in captivity. The research was published and has been cited in subsequent assessments of captive management potential for the species.
The practice of naming individual animals in conservation research and communication is not sentimental indulgence — it is an evidence-based strategy. Research in conservation psychology consistently shows that individual, named animals generate significantly more empathy and donation behaviour from the public than statistics about populations. The "identifiable victim effect" — first documented in human disaster relief contexts — applies equally to wildlife: a photograph of Honey curled in a human hand raises more money for pangolin conservation than a graph showing population decline.
For researchers, naming also has practical value. Animals that are part of long-term monitoring programmes accumulate individual histories that enable scientific questions about longevity, mate fidelity, habitat use change and survival after perturbation that could not otherwise be addressed. The multi-year Tswalu dataset, which depends on following individually known animals, has produced more scientific output than any other African pangolin study.
| Programme | Country | Species | Approx. Named Individuals | Key Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APWG Rehabilitation | South Africa | Temminck's ground pangolin | 70+ documented | Rehabilitation protocols, post-release data |
| Tswalu Research Programme | South Africa | Temminck's ground pangolin | 25+ tracked | Home range, behaviour, reproduction science |
| Tikki Hywood Foundation | Zimbabwe | Temminck's ground pangolin | 50+ documented | Rehab protocols, ambassador programme |
| Wildlife Alliance | Cambodia | Sunda pangolin | 30+ documented | Confiscation-to-release protocols |
| Chinese research facilities | China | Chinese pangolin | ~10 documented captive | Captive reproduction science |
| Palawan/PCWRC | Philippines | Philippine pangolin | 15+ documented | Island-endemic ecology data |
Several organisations offer "adopt a pangolin" programmes that connect donors to specific named individuals in rehabilitation or research. These programmes typically provide adoption certificates, regular update newsletters and occasionally close-up photography of the adopted animal. The African Pangolin Working Group, the Tikki Hywood Foundation and the Pangolin Crisis Fund all offer some form of individual animal sponsorship.
The most direct way to support named pangolins in the wild is to donate to programmes that fund radio-telemetry research — the fitting of tracking devices is expensive (a single satellite tag costs US$1,000–2,500 and requires ongoing subscription fees), and every funded tag means one more individual pangolin contributing to science that protects the species as a whole.
There is no single universally agreed most famous pangolin, but several individuals have significant public profiles. In South Africa, Honey — a Temminck's ground pangolin rehabilitated by APWG — became one of the most photographed pangolins in conservation media. Internationally, the unnamed pangolin featured in Netflix's Our Planet (2019) may have the widest public recognition due to the scale of that production.
Yes. Research pangolins fitted with radio-tracking devices or satellite tags are routinely given names. Rehabilitation centres name all their patients. Naming serves practical identification purposes and creates emotional connection for the public and researchers. Names are commonly drawn from local languages, nature themes or given by the carer who rescued the animal.
Research pangolins with radio-transmitters or GPS satellite tags can be tracked for months to years, depending on battery life and tag retention. Temminck's ground pangolins at Tswalu Kalahari have been tracked for periods exceeding two years. Long-term tracking provides data on home range size, seasonal habitat use, mating behaviour and survival rates.
No. All pangolin species are protected under CITES Appendix I. In South Africa, possession without a permit is a criminal offence. Beyond legality, pangolins are physiologically unsuited to captivity — they are highly stress-susceptible, require live insect diets and have complex needs no captive facility has reliably replicated for Asian species. All named pangolins in conservation programmes are in professional care or wild with monitoring.
South Africa likely has the largest number of individually named and documented pangolins in active research and rehabilitation. APWG has rehabilitated and released dozens of named individuals, and research at Tswalu, Dinokeng and other sites maintains ongoing named study populations. Zimbabwe's Tikki Hywood Foundation has also documented a large number of individually named pangolins through its rehabilitation programme.
To learn more about pangolin conservation programmes, research and how to get involved, visit our guides to volunteering in South Africa, donating to pangolin conservation, and pangolin tracking and research methods.