Pangolin Sanctuaries and Rescue Centres: A Global Guide

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals on earth, and the organisations that rescue, rehabilitate, and release them operate largely out of the spotlight. There are no mass-market pangolin sanctuaries with gift shops and guided tours. The work is quiet, specialised, and extraordinarily difficult. This guide profiles the leading pangolin rescue and rehabilitation centres across Africa and Asia, explains what makes their work so challenging, and outlines how you can support them.

Why Pangolin Sanctuaries Are Different

Unlike elephant orphanages or big cat reserves, pangolin rescue centres face a unique set of constraints that shape everything about how they operate:

• Diet: Pangolins are obligate myrmecophages, eating almost exclusively ants and termites. Replicating this diet in captivity requires sourcing live insects daily, a logistically demanding and expensive undertaking. Artificial substitutes have improved but remain imperfect, and many rescued pangolins refuse to eat them.
• Stress sensitivity: Pangolins are solitary, nocturnal animals that respond poorly to captivity. Handling, noise, and unfamiliar environments can cause fatal levels of stress. Rescue centres must minimise human contact and provide quiet, dark spaces.
• Health fragility: Rescued pangolins frequently arrive dehydrated, malnourished, and riddled with secondary infections from the conditions of trafficking. Pneumonia is a leading cause of death in rescued animals.
• No tourism model: Because pangolins cannot be exhibited without harming their welfare, rescue centres cannot generate revenue through visitor admissions the way many wildlife sanctuaries do.

These factors mean that pangolin rehabilitation is expensive, labour-intensive, and has historically had high mortality rates. The centres that succeed do so through deep specialisation and long experience.

Leading Sanctuaries in Africa

Tikki Hywood Foundation — Zimbabwe

Founded in 1994, the Tikki Hywood Foundation is one of the longest-running and most respected pangolin conservation organisations in Africa. Based in Harare, it operates a dedicated rescue and rehabilitation programme for Temminck's ground pangolins confiscated from the illegal trade. The Foundation has developed pioneering husbandry protocols that are now used by rescue centres across the continent, and its rehabilitated pangolins have one of the highest documented survival rates post-release.

Tikki Hywood also runs education programmes and works directly with Zimbabwean law enforcement on anti-trafficking operations. Their anti-poaching collaboration model has been adopted by several other southern African countries.

Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital — South Africa

This specialist veterinary hospital handles pangolin emergencies across Gauteng and surrounding provinces. Working with provincial conservation authorities, it provides emergency veterinary care for confiscated pangolins before they enter longer-term rehabilitation. South Africa's pangolin rescue network is relatively well-developed compared to many African countries, with several facilities able to receive animals at short notice.

Pangolin Conservation — South Africa

An organisation dedicated to Temminck's ground pangolin across southern Africa. They conduct research, run rehabilitation programmes, and maintain a database tracking pangolin rescues and releases. Their work has contributed significantly to understanding the reproductive biology of ground pangolins, which informs rehabilitation protocols.

Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation — Nigeria

West Africa is a critical region for pangolin trafficking, with white-bellied and giant ground pangolins under intense pressure. Emerging rescue facilities in Nigeria and Cameroon are developing capacity, though they face significant funding and infrastructure challenges compared to their southern African counterparts. The giant ground pangolin, the largest of all eight species, is particularly difficult to rehabilitate due to its size and dietary requirements.

Leading Sanctuaries in Asia

Save Vietnam's Wildlife (SVW) — Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam

SVW operates one of the most successful pangolin rescue programmes in Asia. Based at the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme within Cuc Phuong National Park, the centre has rescued and rehabilitated hundreds of Sunda pangolins seized from the trade. SVW has developed expertise in treating the severe health issues common in trafficked animals, particularly the dehydration and organ damage caused by being injected with substances to increase their weight before sale.

The centre also runs extensive community education programmes in surrounding villages, addressing the traditional medicine demand that drives much of the Asian trade.

Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme — Vietnam

Co-managed by SVW and international partners, this programme within Cuc Phuong combines rescue operations with research. It has produced some of the most detailed data on pangolin health, diet, and behaviour in captivity, contributing to improved husbandry standards across Southeast Asia.

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden — Hong Kong

Kadoorie has been involved in Chinese pangolin conservation for over two decades. While primarily a botanical garden, it operates a wildlife rescue centre that has handled confiscated pangolins and contributed research on Chinese pangolin ecology. Hong Kong's position as a major transit hub for wildlife trafficking means the centre regularly receives animals seized at the port and airport.

Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT)

WFFT operates a wildlife rescue centre in Phetchaburi province that handles a range of species including Sunda pangolins. While not exclusively a pangolin facility, its veterinary team has developed experience treating pangolins confiscated from the Thai trade and working with government agencies on enforcement actions.

The Rehabilitation Process

While each centre adapts its approach to local conditions and species, the general rehabilitation pipeline follows a consistent pattern:

1. Emergency intake: Veterinary assessment within hours of confiscation. Treatment for dehydration, wounds, and infections. Many animals arrive in critical condition.
2. Stabilisation: Days to weeks of intensive care. Establishing feeding on available ant and termite species or supplementary diets. Monitoring for secondary infections, particularly pneumonia.
3. Behavioural recovery: Gradual transition to larger, more natural enclosures. Encouraging natural foraging behaviour. Reducing human contact to prepare for wild release.
4. Pre-release assessment: Confirming the animal is self-feeding, maintaining healthy weight, and displaying normal activity patterns. Genetic assessment may guide release site selection.
5. Release and monitoring: Release into protected habitat, ideally with GPS or radio tracking to monitor survival and movement. Technology-based monitoring is increasingly used to track released animals.

Not all rescued pangolins survive. Mortality rates vary significantly between centres and depend heavily on the condition of animals at intake. Centres with the longest experience and most specialised protocols report the best outcomes, but even under ideal conditions, some animals arrive too damaged to save.

How to Support Pangolin Sanctuaries

Because pangolin rescue centres cannot rely on tourism revenue, they depend almost entirely on donations, grants, and partnerships. Here is how you can help:

• Direct donations: Even small contributions fund ant supplies, veterinary care, and staff salaries. Most organisations accept online donations through their websites.
• Animal sponsorship: Several centres offer programmes where donors can sponsor a specific pangolin's rehabilitation, receiving updates on its progress.
• Professional volunteering: Qualified veterinarians, wildlife biologists, and conservation professionals can volunteer their skills. Centres generally do not accept unskilled volunteers due to the stress-sensitivity of the animals.
• Awareness: Sharing information about the pangolin trafficking crisis helps build public support for enforcement and habitat protection.
• Institutional partnerships: Zoos, universities, and conservation organisations can partner with rescue centres on research, funding, and capacity building.

The work of pangolin sanctuaries is a race against the clock. Every animal that arrives at a rescue centre represents both a failure of protection and an opportunity for recovery. The centres profiled here are doing some of the most important and least recognised conservation work in the world. They deserve far more support than they currently receive.