A porcupine on his guard - ARDEA / MARY EVANS / SIPA

The bezoar is a mass of undigested food that accumulates in the intestines of certain ruminants to form a kind of pebble, which was once called gallstone or stomach pearl. It can be found in the belly of goats, in Harry Potter storylines and, unfortunately for them, in the intestines of a few porcupines.

“Unfortunately”, because this benign cluster is considered by some in Asia as a powerful medicine, even if its virtues have never been proven. The bezoar is sold today, reduced to powder, at 150 dollars a gram, a treasure for poachers who have since started to hunt porcupine wherever it lives. To understand the threat hanging over this unique animal, our partner Brut has put together a little video

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