Windill21 pupil Emilie Klumpler on a mission to save pangolins
Pangolins, the world’s most illegally trafficked wild animals, have been given a little helping hand by a six-year-old Bishop’s Stortford girl.
Emilie Klumpler, a budding young naturalist, had her long, blonde locks chopped off – her first drastic haircut – to raise money for her favourite animal.
Two years ago, the Year 2 Windhill21 pupil fell in love with the shy little anteaters, which are covered head to toe in scales.
She was spurred into fundraising action after watching BBC documentary Pangolins – The World’s Most Wanted Animal, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Emilie’s mum Flora said: “Emilie has liked pangolins for a long time – she read about them in a book when she was four – but this documentary has really galvanised her into action.”
Between 2000 and 2013, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates, more than one million of these loveable creatures were illegally traded. Poachers target them because their keratin scales are valuable commodities, as is their meat,which sells for up to $500 a kilo.
The documentary, which aired in May 2018, followed conservationist Maria Diekmann, who warned: “We’ve got a very good chance of losing pangolins within the next decade. We’re talking about total and complete extinction.”
One of the pangolins in the documentary was named HoneyBun, so Emilie named her fundraiser Haircut for HoneyBun, which was done at M Salons in South Street.
Diekmann founded wildlife conservation charity Rare and Endangered Species Trust (REST) in 2000 and Emilie will be sending it her sponsorship cash.
She has been educating her classmates and friends at 1st Bishop’s Stortford Rainbows about the plight of pangolins and taking her sponsorship form around school.
Her friends have been donating their 20p and 50p pocket money to her cause. So far, Emilie has raised £150, but her total is climbing by the day.
Emilie also plans to donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a Hereford-based charity that uses real hair to produce wigs for children who have lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other illnesses.
Mum Flora is also planning a fundraiser for REST later in the year; in September, she will embark on the 10 Bridges Walk, which will take her 25k across England’s capital city.
* To find out more about REST, visit the website.