Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.An indefinably strange and incredibly endearing creature resembling a hybrid of anteater, pine cone and Pokémon, the pangolin has been discreetly scuttling around Earth in one form or another for some 80mn years. But having coexisted with dinosaurs and endured aeons of change, this reclusive, scaly mammal is now on the brink of being wiped out by humans. Poached and harvested for traditional Chinese medicine, it faces extinction in the next two decades if illegal trade continues at current levels. A stirring new Netflix documentary from the maker of My Octopus Teacher spotlights both the plight of the pangolin and the admirable efforts of small organisations and individuals to protect this “unicorn-type creature” from traffickers in South Africa. The film begins with the rescue of a young animal in a sting operation and goes on to follow the traumatised pup’s year-long rehabilitation under the attentive supervision of local volunteer Gareth Thomas. Like director Pippa Ehrlich’s previous feature, which became an unlikely streaming hit and Oscar-winner, Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey is as much an emotional study of human nature and interspecies communication as a high-res study of the natural world. “There’s just something about pangolins,” observes Thomas early on. Watching Kulu go about his business in the safety of a wildlife facility — foraging for ants; scurrying around with his “arms” anxiously clasped in front of him — you start to get what he means. For all the animal’s distinctive features — the armoured, coiling body and impossibly flexible tongue — what really stands out is its quiet, vulnerable innocence. A scene capturing Kulu’s trembling shock as he’s electrocuted by a fence will test even the most stoic viewer. While the film unashamedly pulls the heartstrings, there’s nothing affected about Thomas’s doting “parenting” or his separation anxiety as Kulu’s return to the wild looms. We hear how the work has given him a sense of purpose, and how his intense attachment to Kulu has helped him overcome the grief that he felt after the sudden death of his closest friends. The poignant irony is that where pangolins are being killed for remedies, caring for one appears to have been a healing experience for his handler. The story of man and creature growing together is uplifting and yet, at times, both wearingly earnest and overly sentimental. But there is, towards the end, a sobering reminder of the way humans abuse the environment and a call for more accountability and awareness. As rehabilitation expert Nicci Wright puts it: “If such a special creature like a pangolin is lost, it symbolises the way we treat everything.” ★★★★☆On Netflix now
