The Chinese pangolin is a scale-covered mammal that resembles an armadillo in appearance and an anteater in behavior, though it is more closely related to bears and cats than anteaters.

Once found in forests and grasslands across southern China, parts of Southeast Asia, and into India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, poaching and trafficking have left the Chinese pangolin critically endangered. Despite protections, in some parts of Asia, including China and Vietnam, pangolin meat is considered a delicacy and its scales are used in traditional medicine, despite no evidence that the scales cure anything.

All of the four Asian species of pangolin are endangered or critically endangered, so poachers are setting their sights on the four African species to fill demand.