BEIJING:- Nearly 12 tonnes of smuggled pangolin scales have been confiscated by Chinese officials - the country’s largest-ever seizure of the endangered mammal’s prized parts as it seeks to curb illegal trafficking. The pangolin, whose brown scales have earned it the nickname “scaly anteater”, is the most hunted animal in the world, with one million estimated to have been plucked from Asian and African forests over the past decade. The latest stockpile of scales was seized at a port in the southern city of Shenzhen this July and likely taken from between 20,000 to 30,000 slaughtered pangolins, state media reported Wednesday.–AFP