African Pangolin

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COMMON NAME: Pangolins
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Manidae
DIET: Insectivore
AVERAGE LIFE SPAN: unknown
SIZE: 45 inches to 4.5 feet long
WEIGHT: 4 to 72 pounds

What is a pangolin?

Pangolins, or scaly anteaters as they are otherwise known, are unique mammals covered in hard scales comprised of keratin. They predate almost exclusively on ants and termites and are predominantly nocturnal and elusive, secretive mammals. The shy, harmless pangolin is becoming increasingly well known for one reason: It's believed to be the world's most trafficked non-human mammal. Tens of thousands of pangolins are poached every year, killed for their scales for traditional Chinese medicine and their meat, a delicacy among some ultra-wealthy in China and Vietnam.

There are eight species of pangolins. Four are found in Asia—Chinese, Sunda, Indian, and Philippine pangolins—and the IUCN lists them as critically endangered. The four African species—the ground pangolin, giant pangolin, white-bellied, and black-bellied—are vulnerable. All species face declining populations because of illegal trade. In 2016, the 186 countries party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the treaty that regulates the international wildlife trade, voted to ban the commercial trade in pangolins.

Why 'pangolin'?

The word pangolin is derived from the Malay word 'penggulung,' which means roller represents how pangolins behave when they feel threatened, rolling up into a ball.

What's scaly from tip to tail and can curl into a ball?

Pangolins!

Their full armor of scales easily recognizes these solitary, primarily nocturnal animals. A startled pangolin will cover its head with its front legs, exposing its rankings to any potential predator. If touched or grabbed, it will roll up completely into a ball, while the sharp scales on the tail can be used to lash out.

How many species of pangolin are there?

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There are eight extant species of pangolin. They comprise the Chinese pangolin, Indian pangolin, Sunda pangolin, and Philippine pangolin, which inhabit Asia. The white-bellied pangolin, black-bellied pangolin, giant pangolin, and Temminck's pangolin, which occur in Africa.

Also called scaly anteaters because of their preferred diet, pangolins are increasingly victims of illegal wildlife crime—mainly in Asia and in growing amounts in Africa—for their meat and scales.

Eight species of pangolins are found on two continents. They range from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered.

Four species live in Africa: Black-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tetradactyla), White-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspid), Giant Ground pangolin (Smutsia gigantea), and Temminck's Ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii).

The four species found in Asia: Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis), Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla).

All eight pangolin species are protected under national and international laws, and two are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

In June 2020, China increased protection for the native Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) to the highest level, which closed an essential loophole for the species' consumption in-country. Additionally, the government will no longer allow the use of pangolin scales in traditional medicine. A big win has given that an estimated 195,000 pangolins were trafficked in 2019 for their scales alone (Challender et al., 2020).

Where are they found?

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Paleo-archaeological evidence suggests pangolins may have evolved in Europe, but the extant species are found only in Asia and Africa. They fulfill a similar ecological niche to anteaters in South America but are unrelated, each having evolved to fill similar environmental roles through convergent evolution.

Why do pangolins need conservation action?

Pangolins are a little-studied and minor understood species. However, they are poached and illegally traded in huge numbers in Asia. Simultaneously, in Africa, they are hunted for wild meat and use in traditional African medicine. However, evidence now suggests African pangolins and their derivatives are being targeted for trade to Asian markets. Consequently, pangolin populations are in severe decline and are thought to be locally extirpated in parts of both Asia and Africa.

Why are pangolins traded?

ScalesMost pangolins in illicit, international trade end up in China and Vietnam. Here, the animals' meat is consumed as a delicacy, but it is also believed to impart health benefits such as nourishing the kidneys. Despite a lack of evidence suggesting they're practical, pangolin scales are used as an ingredient in traditional Asian medicine to help breastfeeding women lactate milk, to cure ailments ranging from asthma and psoriasis to cancer, and to improve blood circulation.

How many scales do pangolins have?

Variety in size and scales, every type of pangolin probably has an alternate reach regarding the plates' number. The number of leaves on the Sunda pangolin has been estimated at approximately 900 to over 1000.

· While pangolins are devoured as a delicacy in nations like Vietnam and China.

Pangolin scales

Pangolin scales are used in traditional medicine allegedly to cure various ailments, though this has not been scientifically proven.

Pangolin boots.

Pangolin skins are processed into leather products like boots, belts, and bags. These are seen primarily in the United States and Mexico.

Historically pangolins were poached primarily for bushmeat, with their scales cast aside as byproducts. Over the last decade, however, the price fetched for skins, rankings, and the whole animal in countries like Vietnam and China, and the US has resulted in decimated populations. All eight species of pangolin are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the highest international law level.

With increased connectivity and ease of sharing content worldwide, the trafficking of these animals has been exacerbated by an unlikely culprit; the Internet. And they aren't alone. The world's most endangered species, from elephants, to rhinos and tigers, can all be found with a scroll or a swipe across everyday apps. Criminals now have access to the world's biggest marketplace through e-commerce, social media, and search platforms, enabling them to advertise illegally traded species and process transactions with minimal risk.

WWF, along with partners TRAFFIC and IFAW, launched the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online in 2018 to unite the tech sector in shutting down this open route for illegal trade. Companies work together with wildlife experts to strengthen and harmonize wildlife policies, train enforcement staff to better detect endangered species and their products. Educate billions of users about wildlife trafficking, report illegal products, and enhance automated detection systems such as image recognition and share learning across the industry. In March 2020, Coalition companies reported blocking or removing more than 3.3 million listings that violated wildlife policies. The entire progress report can access here.

Given the scale and ever-evolving nature of the Internet, Coalition activities aim to be inclusive and focused on long-term, sustained impact. With this thinking, the Cyber Spotter Program launched in 2017 to catalyze citizen science to detect and report illegal wildlife products across the web. To date, conservation and tech company volunteers have flagged nearly 10,000 endangered species listings that company partners have removed. And this is just the start.

Pangolin Behaviors

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They are all armed and dangerous.

All pangolins can roll themselves into a ball in self-defense. Their armor-plated scales are also capable of cutting action, worked by powerful muscles, which inflict severe wounds for anything inserted between them. When threatened, they can also emit a noxious-smelling acid from their glands, similar to skunks, except there is no spraying.

Females are usually alone with their young.

Infants are about 15 centimeters long and weigh about 3 to 16 ounces at birth. Their pale, soft scales begin to harden by the second day. The baby is folded in the mother's lap or rolled-up body. Nursed for 3 to 4 months, it begins to eat termites at one month. At this time, the infant begins to accompany the mother, perhaps riding on her tail base. If the mother senses danger, then the baby slips under her and is protected when she rolls up her body.

African Pangolin Diet

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Pangolins are creatures of the night.

They remain in their burrows during the day and come out at night to hunt. It uses its keen sense of smell to locate termite and ant nests, digging the insects from mounds using its claws and eating them with its extremely long tongue (which can be up to 41 centimeters). In some cases, this mammal's tongue is longer than its body. Large salivary glands coat the tongue with sticky mucus to which ants and termites stick. When digging for insects, it can constrict their ears and nostrils to keep them out while feeding.

Habitats

Where do pangolins live?

They prefer sandy soils and can be found in woodlands and savannas within reach of the water. They are dispersed throughout Southern, Central, and East Africa.

Illegal trade

Pangolin scales are made of keratin, the same material that makes up fingernails, hair, and horn. Pangolin scales, like rhino horn, have no proven medicinal value, yet they are used in traditional Chinese medicine to help with ailments ranging from lactation difficulties to arthritis. The scales typically dried and ground up into powder, which may turn into a pill.

For many years, the Asian species were the primary target of poachers and traffickers. But now that their numbers have been depleted, smugglers are increasingly turning to African pangolins. In two record-breaking seizures in the space of a week in April 2019, Singapore seized a 14.2-ton shipment and a 14-ton shipment of pangolin scales—from an estimated 72,000 pangolins—coming from Nigeria.

Reproduction

The only time pangolins spend time together is when they mate and bear young. Some pangolin fathers will stay in the den until the single offspring is independent. Babies are born with soft scales that harden after two days, but they will ride on their mothers' tails until they're weaned at about three months.

They reach sexual maturity at about two years old.

Sources Link:

Wild Life War