Well things often don’t turn out as planned, and in the case of 2020 and coronavirus that must be true for just about everybody. With Italy and other parts of Europe still at the centre of the coronavirus pandemic, it seems increasingly unlikely that I’ll get to walk the Alpe Adria trail this year.
When I do eventually do the trek, I still aim to raise money for and awareness of the plight of the pangolin, the most trafficked animal in the world.
I’m no scientist but it is interesting to see that one of the theories that has emerged in recent weeks as a potential source of Covid-19 is the link to the pangolin.
Recent articles in ‘National Geographic’, and ‘Nature’ magazines suggest that bats and pangolins may be the means of transmission of Coronavirus to humans. The BBC reports that two groups of coronaviruses linked to the one behind the human pandemic can be traced to Malayan pangolins smuggled into China, according to Dr Tommy Lam of the University of Hong Kong. He is quoted as saying that sales of these wild animals in wet markets should be strictly prohibited to avoid animal to human transmission.
There are also reports that despite these fears, such ‘wet markets’, potentially the source of previous outbreaks of SARS, have in some cases reopened since the initial shutdowns in China.
Certainly it seems clear that there is some risk. So at a time when we are all focused on the impact of the current crisis on the human race , stop to think that it is quite possible that human greed has not only endangered these beautiful and unique creatures, but may also have caused human disaster few could have imagined.
Let us hope that further research, government action and changes in human behaviour can help end the trade in pangolin meat and scales so that these creatures can live the peaceful life they deserve.
I still hope that when I do get to do my trek, I can raise funds to help the pangolin. In the meantime , if you want to help, please click the link at the top of my blog ‘save pangolins’ . Thank you.
Across the Alps to the Adriatic 