The pangolin may be the most endangered species you’ve never heard of. These unique anteating mammals are covered from tip to tail with large, geometric scales. To their detriment, one of their cutest qualities—they roll into a near perfect ball when threatened—makes them extremely easy for poachers to pick up and throw into a sack.

Pangolin scales are highly prized in traditional Asian medicine, and their meat is considered a delicacy in China. Roughly 100,000 pangolins are removed from the wild each year to meet this growing demand, making them the world’s most illegally trafficked mammal. Pangolins may be poached to extinction in the coming decades if we don’t crack down on the trade.

While most poached pangolins are sent to China and Vietnam, where the market for pangolin parts for unproved medicinal purposes is rampant, the demand also exists in the United States.

Please join IFAW, Born Free USA, and the Center for Biological Diversity in calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect pangolins under the U.S. Endangered Species Act by completely banning all pangolin imports and sales.