Wildlife officers rescued an injured pangolin from a wildfire in Thailand.

Park rangers were monitoring hot spots eating through the woodlands when they spotted the armoured mammal crawling amid forest detritus at the Lum Nam Pai Wildlife Sanctuary in Mae Hong Son province on April 8.

The pangolin appeared weakened as it tried to escape the inferno raging around 200 metres away.

Nikorn Kaewmora, chief of the Lum Nam Pai Wildlife Sanctuary, said: 'The pangolin was taken to the Pang Tong Wildlife Breeding Station to be treated. It will remain there until it is strong enough to be released back into its natural habitat.'

The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency reported on April 7 that Thailand had 1,607 fire hotspots, with Mae Hong Son seeing the most fires at 295.

Pangolins are protected animals under the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act and are listed in CITES Appendix I, which includes the most endangered species.

Animals listed under this category are prohibited to be hunted and traded commercially.

According to the IUCN Red List, three pangolin species are classified as critically endangered, two as endangered, and two as vulnerable.

Pangolins are among the most trafficked animals in the world due to demand for their meat and scales said to be used in traditional Asian medicine.