We are proud to announced the opening of our state-of-the-art pangolin veterinary and rehabilitation facility within the pristine Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, on World Pangolin Day – February 15th, 2025.
APWG co-chair Alexis Kriel addresses the gathered guests
The inauguration event, held over the course of the weekend, marked a significant milestone in the conservation efforts for Temminck’s pangolin, in South Africa, and for the APWG.
Guests entering the Pangolarium for the first time; APWG founder Prof Ray Jansen gets a guided tour from co-chair Nicci Wright; Lunch in the lapa after the opening
Guests included conservationists, representatives from environmental organisations, ecologists, and scientists, all united in their support for the APWG’s ongoing contribution to pangolin conservation in South Africa. Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, spanning approximately 48 000 hectares in Limpopo province, within the UNESCO designated Waterberg Biosphere, offers an ideal environment for pangolin rehabilitation. The reserve’s diverse ecosystems and state-of-the-art security ensure that rehabilitated pangolins have the best chance for a successful reintroduction back into the wild.
The team that made it all happen: Kate Hughes (Lepogo Lodges); Nicci Wright and Alexis Kriel (APWG co-chairs); Glenn Phillips (CEO Lapalala Wilderness); Gareth Thomas (APWG) and Prof Ray Jansen (founder and past chair APWG)
The Pangolarium (meaning a “place for pangolins”) is a purpose-built facility that aims to enhance the rescue, veterinary high care, rehabilitation, and reintroduction processes for pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade on the west side of Limpopo Province, also accessible from the north of the province, and with a doorway into North West Province. Equipped with advanced medical and husbandry resources, the centre provides a facility where this vulnerable species can recover and prepare for a return to their natural habitat. It will also serve as a basecamp for the APWG’s ongoing research and education initiatives.
The building of the facility has been financed by Lepogo Lodges – an NGO Lodge operator on Lapalala Wilderness Reserve and the Sustainability winner of the Ahead Travel Awards, for Melote House, in the MEA division.
Limpopo Province is historically the province with the highest incidence of pangolins retrieved from the illegal trade, sharing borders with Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Botswana – all pangolin range countries – where transboundary collaborators facilitate the poaching and sale of pangolins in South Africa. Pangolins are currently considered the most illegally trade non-human mammal on the planet, with the eight species (four in Africa and four in Asia) varying from vulnerable to endangered on the IUCN Red List, and with all populations decreasing. They have been resident on earth for 85 million years.
The APWG invites the global community to join in supporting our pangolin conservation efforts. For more information on how to contribute or get involved, please visit our donations page.
Our Together for Pangolins evening at CIRCA Gallery in Rosebank was a raging success.
The evening started on the upper deck and Darwin Room of the Circa Gallery with glasses of wine from Painted Wolf Wine and Waterford Estate, Vergelegen sparkling wine and a delicious harvest table from Service Station Cafe. A spectacular view of the sunset over Johannesburg, a fire pit and fantastic company set the mood for the evening.
Harvest table spread from Service Station Cafe in Melville
At 6:30pm the guest went down to the Middle Gallery to view the wonderful art and enjoy a video of pangolin photos put together by John Culverwell of Adlip video services.
Christine Read opened the event, followed by co-chair, Nicci Wright, who gave an informative talk about the essential work being done by the African Pangolin Working Group.
APWG co-chair Nicci Wright
After this opening, multi-award winning writer/director of My Octopus Teacher, Pippa Ehrlich, kept the gathering captivated with a talk about her next Netflix documentary, which centres around a special relationship with a pangolin and his minder.
Pippa Ehrlich with part of her rapt audience
Susie Goodman of Strauss & Co was a fantastic auctioneer of the curated art and luxury items in our live auction. Our guest enjoyed some lively bidding using the pangolin shaped paddles especially made for us by the Aluminum Trading Group. After the auction, our guest enjoyed more food and wine.
The full thank you list
Mark and Christine Read and their brilliant team at Everard Read Galleries for their generosity and support.
Carolynne Waterhouse of Rand Merchant Bank for her guidance and indefatigable energy and enthusiasm for pangolins.
Susie Goodman, Jackie Murray, Keanu Crause and the rest of the Strauss & Co team for their incredible generosity and support of the online and live auctions. Especially Susie for her auctioneering talents at the live auction.
Guy du Toit for being inspired enough to make three enchanting bronzes of hares with pangolins especially for this event.
Monique Landman (Everard Read) for hanging the artworks so expertly in the CIRCA Gallery.
Jillian Johnson (Everard Read) whose smile lit up every conversation and was our point of contact in the management of the event.
Magnificent Pippa Erhlich for her enthralling talk and for the fascinating peek into the world of award-winning wildlife filmmaking.
Angus and Piet from African Massive
Angus Morton and Piet Modiba from Africa Massive for once again providing stellar audio-visual services.
Carmen vd Merwe from Service Station Café for the out-of-this-world delicious food.
Painted Wolf Wines for their wine and their constant support of conservation and endangered species.
John Culverwell of Adlip video services for his beautiful videos and for technical support.
Douw van Heerden for being our artist in residence and creating under the spotlight on the night.
Peter Girdwood – making gorgeous frames from Kajima’s travelling box for Gareth’s photos of Kajima.
Rowena Allan for the luxurious picnic baskets.
Amy Irving and Demz Viljoen-Doyle for their huge help on the night.
Stunning auction paddles in the shape of pangolins donated by Christopher and Andy of Aluminium Trading Group.
All the artists, artisans and donors, who so generously supported us with artwork and who turned up to support us on the evening.
All the people who bought tickets to the event and bid so enthusiastically in the auction.
Clockwise from left: Comma by Steven John Wilkins, Smutsia Temminckii – Temminck Ground Pangolin by Gillian Condy, Tshukudu Njana, Uyema (Maquette) by Angus Taylor, Seated Hare with Pangolin by Guy du Toit
Clockwise from top left: Singularity by Gareth Thomas, So Below by Gareth Thomas, Pangolin Boy by Robert Rorich
Clockwise from left: Balancing Act by John Moore, We are all in this Together by John Moore, Icon series: Pangolin by John Moore, Freedom Feels by Gareth Thomas
The following pieces were full donations by these outstandingly generous people:
Robert Rorich who donated his bronze sculpture Pangolin Boy.
Carolynne Waterhouse for the donations of the Noush Doll, Addo Flightless Dung Beetle, and Lion Paw, both by Robert Leggat.
Gareth Thomas for his donation of three photographic images and Kajima’s transport box that was used for the frames.
Gareth Thomas, photographer, talking about his special relationship with the pangolin, Kajima, who was featured in three photographs donated to the fund raiser.
Gillian Condy for her original Temminck’s pangolin water colour.
Carol Slabolepszy for her acrylic-resin Mother and Pup sculpture in silver-grey pewter finish.
Jez Prettejohn of African Pewter for the pangolin salad servers.
With the generosity of our donors and supporters we raised good funding for our work, but more than that, pangolins were very beautifully showcased, magnifying their extraordinary and unique charm. You couldn’t help but fall in love with them.
TOGETHER FOR PANGOLINS, on July 25th, is a collaboration between Everard Read Gallery, Stauss & Co Art Auctioneers, and the African Pangolin Working Group. The aim is to raise awareness and funds for the continued work of saving pangolins now and in the future. Everard Read has donated its CIRCA Art Gallery for this event – an architectural landmark, on the Keyes Art Mile. CIRCA winds its way up three stories in a Fibonacci spiral – a golden ratio found all throughout nature, and significantly in the coil of a pangolin.
The speaker at the event is Pippa Ehrlich – the multi-award winning co-writer and director of the Netflix documentary “My Octopus Teacher”. Pippa will talk about her next film, which explores the intimate relationship between a pangolin named Kajima and his minder Gareth Thomas, while Kajima was being rehabilitated and then released back into a protected wildlife reserve. Gareth Thomas will also be at CIRCA event, and his photograph of Kajima – framed in the wood of Kajima’s sleeping box, will be on auction.
Pangolin Candle Holders by Ardmore Design, Donated by Charles Grieg Jewellers
Balancing Act by John Moore. An edition is also available in the online auction.
Freedom Feels by Gareth Thomas
Hare with Pangolin by Guy du Toit
Hare with Pangolin by Guy du Toit
Icon Series – Pangolin by John Moore. An edition is also available in the online auction
Girl with Pangoln Noush Doll. Donated by Caroline Waterhouse
Bronze Pangolin by Robert Leggat
Pangolin and pup by Carol Slabolepsky
Pewter Pangolin Salad Servers by African Pewter.
Pewter Pangolins by African Pewter.
Two night stay for two at andBeyond Phinda Mountain or Forest Lodge. Donated by andBeyond
Dung beetle sculpture by Robert Leggat.
Pangolin Cuff by Susan von Zahn
Two night stay for two at Umlani Bush Camp. Donate by Umlani
For the event at CIRCA Art Gallery, a curated collection of mainly pangolin-themed artworks and sculptures, will be auctioned, by the dynamic Executive Director of Strauss & Co, Susie Goodman.
Online Auction at Strauss & Co
Also for pangolin conservation, and running concurrently with the July 25th event at CIRCA; Strauss & Co will have an exhibition of works for viewing at their gallery, in Houghton, Johannesburg, which will be auctioned from their online platform, between July 24th and August 5th – accessed through the Strauss & Co website. The works are all by upcoming and established artists and sculptors, who have aligned themselves with this important conservation cause.
Comma by Steven John Wilkins
The Bringer of Rain by Douw van Heerden
Together into the Light by Douw van Heerden
Singularity by Gareth Thomas
SoBelow by Gareth Thomas
Gender Responsibility by Wayne Barker
Pangolin by Gerbrand van Heerden
Untitled (Pangolin) by Gerbrand van Heerden
Smutsia Temminckii – Temminck Ground Pangolin by Gillian Condy
Red Earth Pangolin by Lin Barrie
Deft Series – Pangolin by John Moore
Pangolin Boy by Robert Rorich
Regeneration by Marilyn MacDowell
Seated Hare with Pangolin by Guy du Toit
Trashed by Wayne Barker
Tshukudu Njana, Uyema (Maquette) by Angus Taylor
We Are All in This Together by John Moore
The artist, speaker and donors of these events have been incredibly generous and all have an intense love of endangered species and the environment in which they live. We would like to thank them all!
Other donors include Painted Wolf Wines, Rand Merchant Bank, Africa Massive, Umlani Bushcamp, andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, Vergelegen Wine Estate, Adlip Video, Reciprocal Wine Company, Charles Greig Jewellers, African Pewter, Carolynne Waterhouse and Mark-it Wise.
If you missed APWG co-chair, Alexis Kriel and Wildlife photographer, Gareth Thomas in conversation with Pea Horsley last year, then you can catch up or re-watch them here.
Who are the people involved?
PEA HORSLEY is the UK’s most highly regarded animal communication specialists. Sowing the seeds of profound transformation, her goal is to deepen our personal and spiritual understanding of the natural world, re-wilding our connection along the way by offering grounded, practical, and compassionate teachings to everyone from complete beginners and those with more developed intuitive skills.
ALEXIS KRIEL is the African Pangolin Working Group’s Co-Chairperson. She comes from a media background as a journalist and film maker; she has managed her own businesses; has an international certification in wildlife rehabilitation from the IWRC (International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council) and is a member of the IUCN Pangolin Specialist Group. Alexis started working with pangolins in 2014 with the rehabilitation of pangolin pups in the Central African Republic – she qualifies as one of a handful of people in the world who has worked hands-on with three of the four African pangolin species.
GARETH THOMAS was born and raised in South Africa, but spent most of his school holidays in the wild in Zimbabwe, which is where his deep love of nature was seeded. Although he would only reap the fruits of this much later on in his mid 30’s.At this point, he began seeking adventure, which led him to picking up a camera and returning to the African wild. Here, surrounded by wildlife, he found the greatest sense of purpose, peace and meaning. Nothing he had done in his life prior to this had truly activated his heart. He then quite serendipitously found pangolin, who “expanded my heart beyond anything I could have imagined. Pangolin became my greatest teacher!”
Talking with the Ancient Ones Part 1/2
Talking with the Ancient Ones Part 2/2
We have long known that pangolins that have been rescued from the trade suffer from PTSD. They react negatively to situations and noises that remind them for their time in activity. These triggers can include loud male voices, loud music, the smell of cigarette smoke and the smell of beer. While these are not considered entirely measurable, science is catching up with the idea that animal sentience can be measured.
