for conservation organizations and the public to write them off as expendable. Yet they are essential, valuable creatures. I recently went to Vietnam and Indonesia as part of CNN's Change the List project to document the massive illegal trade in endangered pangolin species. I had n't heard of pangolins before readers voted for me to cover the illegal animal trade as part of that project; and Kit had n't heard of them until she read the story last week. I got about halfway through -LRB- the story -RRB- and my stomach hurt so bad I could n't finish it, Kit told me last week. I had this nagging feeling, you know, to do something about it. Kit's petition -- titled Help beautiful and mysterious pangolins by featuring them in an animated movie ! -- had 1,425 signatures as of Monday morning. At least 13 other readers also started petitions urging Disney to put a pangolin character in an animated film or short, according to Pulin Modi, a senior campaigner at Change.org. Disney and Disney Pixar have the reach to make the pangolin popular. And they do n't have to do it out of the goodness of their hearts. It could be a hit. Pangolins are the ultimate underdog -- lovable and secretive, curious and little-known. Mother pangolins carry their babies around on their backs; pangolins hang from trees by their tails; and their tongues are longer than their bodies. Plus, Disney already has a