Pangolin: The world's most trafficked mammal

In the summer of 2012, seated under a neem tree (Azadirachta indica) at the western end of India in Kutch, I looked at a pangolin (Indian Pangolin, Manis crassicaudata) carcass. Indian Pangolins are found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

It bore apparent signs of human persecution. Bruised and tortured, it must have struggled in the metallic snare and now rested before me for a post-mortem examination. In the vastness of the grasslands of Kutch, the dead pangolin and I looked so insignificant.

The pangolin is not often quoted in ancient texts. However, Kakawin Ramayana, an Old Javanese rendering of the Sanskrit Ramayana, mentions a brave pangolin that bolts from a tree and waits undeterred in the undergrowth when Hanumana destroys the pleasure garden of Ravana. In front of me, the dead pangolin looked meek, delicate, fragile, and vulnerable.

Pangolins lack teeth. In fact, they lack even functional enamel genes. They are harmless and tend to roll up when confronted. This explains their name derived from the Malay word ‘peng-goling’ meaning 'one that rolls up'.

A long and sticky tongue helps them feed on insects. The flaps on their large nostrils enable closure while feeding on ants. Traditionally, termite mounds were indicators that pangolin burrows would be located around them.

In the absence of quantitative data from India, it is unclear just how much the population of the Indian Pangolin has dwindled. Studies in Pakistan and Sri Lanka indicate that the density of Indian Pangolins may have come down to 25% of what it was a few decades ago.

Listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Indian Pangolin stares at its bleak survival chances. It is hunted for meat and scales. These scales are used in traditional medicine. The rapid increase in international trafficking has accelerated its poaching.

Interestingly, not much trade involving Indian Pangolin had been recorded by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) historically.

International trade

International trade for this species has escalated in the last two decades for consumptive use in China and many Southeast Asian countries. Notably, pangolins are listed in the Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. They are as protected by law as the Bengal tiger, Indian rhino or a Kashmiri stag.

My second encounter in Kaziranga in 2014 was not disappointing. With the forest department, I saw a pangolin return to the wild, cautiously crawling its way up a tree that looked thinner than the base of the pangolin’s tail.

The two pangolins I encountered were two different species found in India. The pangolin that I found in Kutch and the one in Kaziranga belong to two different species. In the world, there are eight species of these armoured creatures. The Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), the northeast cousin of Indian Pangolin, has smaller scales, a shorter tail, and pronounced ear pinna compared to the Indian Pangolin. The Chinese Pangolin has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2014. It is on the verge of extinction despite being legally protected in India, China, and Myanmar and internationally by CITES. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal, according to the World Wildlife Foundation.

Myanmar has emerged as an important transit country for illegal smuggling of pangolins to China, reveals a study by Vincent Nijman of Oxford Brookes University. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram share porous boundaries with Myanmar. With poor surveillance and enforcement, there are established channels of interstate trade.

There have been some seizures and arrests, but they are only the tip of the iceberg. More than 200 tonnes of pangolin scales were intercepted and confiscated from over 50 seizures globally during 2016-19.

China and Vietnam have traditionally been the important destinations of illegal wildlife trade. The findings of a study by the University of Adelaide identified a complex international network, including the USA. The US turned out to be the largest importer of pangolins both in frequency and volume in 2016.

Public education

It is estimated that 2,00,000 pangolins are annually needed to meet the demand of scales for traditional medicine. Though China has increased protection for the native Chinese Pangolin to the highest level in 2020, social marketing and public education campaigns aimed at demand reduction could hold the key for pangolin protection in the absence of practical enforcement efforts.

The third Saturday in February is promoted as world Pangolin Day for generating awareness on the risks the pangolins face today due to habitat destruction and illegal wildlife trade.

(The writer is a Kaziranga-based conservationist and serves at The Corbett Foundation as Deputy Director and Veterinary Advisor)