As predators of ants and termites, pangolins perform an important ecosystem service by contributing to the regulation of insect populations. By excavating burrows, they likely affect soil processes, including turnover of organic matter and aeration, and may act as bioturbators.
What do pangolins do?
Pangolins are soil caretakers. Their large and elongated claws enable them to burrow underground for shelter and to excavate ant and termite nests for food. In doing so, the soil is mixed and aerated—much like what happens when we rototill gardens or plow crop fields.
Why is the pangolin under threat?
As a result, demand for natural resources is skyrocketing, and the region’s exceptionally diverse ecosystems, as well as its unique species, like the pangolin, are under threat. Without a balanced approach to growth that benefits both people and nature, we all face a profoundly different existence.
What is a pangolin's habitat?
Pangolins are solitary animals, living primarily on their own. They prefer sandy soils where they are easily able to create burrows (shown in the picture to the left) using their strong and sharp claws. They have also been known to take advantage of burrows created by other animals. Pangolins are most active...
How much area can a pangolin protect from termites?
Thanks to their big appetite, one pangolin can protect an area as large as 31 football fields (41 acres) from termite destruction. A pangolin’s scales weigh approximately 20 percent of its total mass. These solid scales are their “weapon.”
How are pangolins helpful?
Pangolins have an extremely important ecological role of regulating insect populations. One single pangolin can consume around 70 million ants and termites per year. If pangolins go extinct, there would be a cascading impact on the environment. “Pangolins save us millions of dollars a year in pest destruction.
What uses do pangolins serve the world?
Their meat is considered a delicacy and pangolin scales are used in traditional medicine and folk remedies to treat a range of ailments from asthma to rheumatism and arthritis. There is also demand in the Americas for their skins used to make leather products like boots, bags, and belts.
How many pangolins are left in the world in 2021?
Pangolins are the world's most trafficked mammal with almost no chance of survival if removed from the wild. With global trends indicating an increasing number of seizures and only an estimated 50,000 pangolins still in existence, protection of this species is growing all the more important.
What is the pangolin killed for?
Pangolins -- two species of which are endangered and all of which are protected by international treaty -- are trafficked by the thousands for their scales, which are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine; for their meat, which is a high-end delicacy here and in China; and for their blood, which is ...
Are pangolins bulletproof?
Despite reports of bullets ricocheting off pangolins, these creatures are not entirely bulletproof. However, the scale of pangolins can provide maximum protection against objects that might pierce its body.
How much is a pangolin worth on the black market?
When threatened, pangolins curl into a ball, using the scales as armor to defend against predators. The scales can cost more than $3,000/kg on the black market.
What is the most trafficked animal in the world?
The Pangolin is The Most Trafficked Mammal in the WorldDespite being heavily protected, pangolins are trafficked more than any other mammal in the world. ( ... All 8 species of the heavily trafficked pangolin are at risk of extinction.More items...
Why is a pangolin so special?
Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world In China and Vietnam, pangolins are highly prized by consumers for their meat and their unique scales. While they are a potent defence against predators, their scales are useless against poachers, and all eight species in Asia and Africa are now under threat.
Does pangolin eat gold?
In Zimbabwean folklore, it is said that Pangolins are the source of alluvial gold, turning the ants they feed on into the precious metal.
Do pangolin lay eggs?
Pangolins don't lay eggs. Males and females mate once a year, and the females give birth to between one and three offspring at a time. Baby pangolins (also known as pangopups) are born covered in soft, white scales that harden after a couple of days.
What does pangolin taste like?
I can personally vouch for the fact that the pangolin is neither magical nor very tasty. The thing's most powerful quality appears to be its bizarre odor, which pungently stunk up the house. My first hesitant nibble revealed that it also permeated the general flavor of the animal.
How long is a pangolin tongue?
Like anteaters, pangolins have long snouts and even longer tongues, which they use to snack on ants and termites they dig up from mounds with their powerful front claws. Up to 28 inches, a pangolin's sticky tongue is sometimes as long as its body, minus the tail!
Why are pangolins considered the guardians of the forest?
Meet the Pangolin. Pangolins are known as the guardians of the forest because they protect forests from termite destruction, maintaining a balanced ecosystem. Of the eight pangolins species, four are found in Asia and four in Africa.
Why are pangolins extinct?
These little guardians have survived thousands of years of natural changes, but now they are on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss and illegal poaching. Many Asian cultures incorrectly believe their scales have medicinal and magical properties, causing a huge demand on the black market. More than 1 million pangolins were brutally murdered for black-market trade in the past 10 years; that is 11 pangolins every hour. All eight species of pangolin are listed under Appendix I (threatened with extinction) in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES).
How many pangolins were killed in the past 10 years?
More than 1 million pangolins were brutally murdered for black-market trade in the past 10 years; that is 11 pangolins every hour. All eight species of pangolin are listed under Appendix I (threatened with extinction) in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES).
How many pounds of termites can a pangolin eat?
Pangolins are the world’s only scaly mammals, and small as they appear, an adult pangolin weighing 6.6 pounds can consume more than 0.66 pounds of termites in one meal. Thanks to their big appetite, one pangolin can protect an area as large as 31 football fields (41 acres) from termite destruction. A pangolin’s scales weigh approximately 20 percent ...
Why are pangolins important?
Pangolins play an important ecological role, providing ‘pest’ control and improving soil quality. What the heck is a pangolin?
How many insects do pangolins eat a year?
Forget the exterminator, call in the pangolin! It is said that a single pangolin consumes as much as 70 million insects per year—mainly ants and termites. Seventy million! That’s about 191,780 insects per day! Imagine an area that is home to 15 pangolins.
How long have pangolins evolved?
Tens of millions of years of pangolin evolution have produced an incredible specimen that is perfectly adapted for the niche they occupy. Their mere presence, in conjunction with that of the other organisms and processes within the habitat they live in, is absolutely imperative to continued healthy ecosystem functioning.
Do pangolins help humans?
However, humans also benefit from the pangolin’s work . Researchers at Ohio State University claim billions of dollars are spent annually on repairing termite damage and treating and preventing infestations. Healthy populations of scaly anteaters throughout their historic range can help to alleviate these problems.
Why are pangolin populations declining?
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.
How long do pangolins stay together?
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.
How many pangolins are poached?
This shy creature, as big as your cat or dog, is the world’s most trafficked mammal -- with more than one million pangolins poached in the past decade. Learn more about the pangolin, why all eight pangolin species are at risk of extinction, and the conservation efforts needed to save them.
How big is a pangolin?
Size: 45 inches to 4.5 feet long. Weight: 4 to 72 pounds. Current Population Trend: Decreasing. 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 use in traditional Chinese ...
What are pangolin scales made of?
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.
How many pangolin scales were seized in 2019?
In two record-breaking seizures in the space of a week in April 2019, Singapore seized a 14.2-ton shipment and and a 14-ton shipment of pangolin scales—from an estimated 72,000 pangolins—coming from Nigeria.
Where is the endangered sunda pangolin?
An endangered sunda pangolin at the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Center in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam. Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark. Please be respectful of copyright.
How do pangolins help the ecosystem?
As predators of ants and termites, pangolins perform an important ecosystem service by contributing to the regulation of insect populations. By excavating burrows, they likely affect soil processes, including turnover of organic matter and aeration, and may act as bioturbators.
What are the ecosystems of pangolins?
Pangolins inhabit diverse ecosystems including primary and secondary tropical and sub-tropical forests, savanna woodland, grasslands, and artificial landscapes, among others. This chapter provides a brief overview of the role of pangolins in ecosystems, including as predators of social insects, as creators of burrows, as prey species, ...
What are pangolins prey on?
Predators of ants and termites. Predating almost exclusively on ants and termites, pangolins are myrmecophagous and termitophagous. They consume all life stages of their prey, including eggs, larva, pupa and adults, but are prey selective ( Irshad et al., 2015, Pietersen et al., 2016 ).
Where do pangolins live?
Pangolins occur in tropical and subtropical Asia and sub-Saharan Africa ( Allen, 1938, Heath, 2013; Chapters 4–11 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 ). Macro-determinants of their distribution are likely (1) the distribution of their prey, i.e., ants and termites, (2) ambient temperature (pangolins can quickly perish in inappropriate temperatures; see Chapters 6 and 28 Chapter 6 Chapter 28 ), and (3) access to water, though Temminck’s ( Smutsia temminckii) and Indian pangolins ( Manis crassicaudata) persist in arid and desiccated environments (see Chapters 5 and 11 Chapter 5 Chapter 11 ). Pangolins inhabit diverse ecosystems ranging from primary and secondary tropical and subtropical forest, including dipterocarp, broadleaf, coniferous and bamboo forests, to savanna woodland, grasslands, and artificial landscapes including monoculture plantations and gardens (see Chapters 4–11 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 ). They are principally nocturnal, with the exception of the black-bellied pangolin ( Phataginus tetradactyla; see Chapter 8 ), and are solitary except when mating or females have young. Social interactions are mediated by scent and pangolins rely on a well-developed olfactory system to find prey ( Choo et al., 2016, Imam et al., 2018 ). They exhibit a combination of fossorial (i.e., burrow dwelling), semi-arboreal and arboreal lifestyles and shelter in burrows and tree hollows among other structures. This chapter provides a brief overview of the role of pangolins in ecosystems, specifically as predators of social insects, as creators of burrows, as prey species, and as hosts of endo- and ectoparasites.
What are termites able to digest?
Synergizing with gut symbiotic microbes and external mutualistic fungi or bacteria, termites are able to digest cellulose and hemi-cellulose, the major component of plant tissue, and they play a critical role in energy and material recycling in ecosystems.
How does seasonal prey affect pangolins?
Seasonal prey dynamics can affect pangolins in a number of ways, including body weight fluctuations (e.g., Chinese pangolin; see Chapter 4 ). This may apply to other species and warrants further research. Pangolins also exhibit prey selectivity regarding termites.
Why are burrows important?
Burrows are important because they provide shelter with stable temperatures : pangolins are poor at temperature self-regulation (see Chapter 1 ). By digging burrows, pangolins likely influence a number of soil processes, including turnover of organic matter, aeration, and mineralization rates.
Why are pangolins endangered?
All pangolin species have been hunted for their meat, and the organs, skin, scales, and other parts of the body are valued for their use in traditional medicine. As a result, populations of all eight species have fallen to the point that they became threatened with extinction during the early 21st century.
What is the name of the pangolin?
Alternative Titles: Pholidota, scaly anteater. pangolin, also called scaly anteater, any of about eight species of armoured placental mammals of the order Pholidota. The name pangolin, from the Malay meaning “rolling over,” refers to this animal’s habit of curling into a ball when threatened. Pangolins—which are typically classified in ...
What are the endangered species of pangolins?
crassicaudata) and the Philippine pangolin ( M. culionensis )—as endangered, and two species—the Sunda, or Malayan, pangolin ( M. javanica) and the Chinese pangolin —as critically endangered.
Do pangolins live alone?
Pangolins are timid and live alone or in pairs. In most species, only one young is born at a time, though broods of two or three offspring have been observed in some Asian species. Young pangolins are soft-scaled at birth and are carried on the female’s back for some time.
Is a pangolin arboreal?
pentadactyla ), are almost entirely arboreal; others, such as the giant ground pangolin ( M. gigantea, also classified as Smutsia gigantea) of Africa, are terrestrial.
Where do pangolins live?
Pangolins inhabit a wide range of environments across Asia and Africa, with habitats overlapping in some cases. In Asia, their habitat ranges as far west as Pakistan, and as far north as Nepal and the outskirts of the Himalayan Mountains. In the south, they range as far as the southern tip of Indonesia.
How much does a pangolin weigh?
The giant ground pangolin, also an African species, is the largest of the pangolins and usually weighs up to 77 pounds. The Asian species can be differentiated from their African counterparts by the presence of hair found between their scales.
How many species of pangolins are there in the world?
Pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, are the most heavily illegally-traded mammals in the world. There are eight species of pangolins: four in Africa and four in Asia. These shy, gentle, slow-moving, nocturnal mammals are covered in scales made of keratin (the same protein that forms human hair and fingernails).
Is the population of pangolins declining?
Population decline of pangolins: Very little is known about the population numbers of pangolins. Lack of sufficient information regarding both population status and the illegal trade in pangolins are serious challenges to addressing their conservation. As with other species traded illegally, seizures of pangolin parts and bodies are thought to be just a small fraction of the actual trade taking place.
Why are pangolins considered the guardians of the forest?
Pangolins are known as the guardians of the forest because they protect forests from termite destruction, maintaining a balanced ecosystem. Public efforts to prevent poaching of pangolins in China are gaining traction, such as this PSA featuring Jackie Chan, produced through a partnership between WildAid and The Nature Conservancy.
Why are pangolins on the verge of extinction?
These little guardians have survived thousands of years of natural changes, but now they are on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss and illegal poaching.
How many acres can a pangolin protect?
Thanks to their big appetite, one pangolin can protect an area as large as 31 football fields (41 acres) from termite destruction. A pangolin’s scales weigh approximately 20 percent of its total mass. These solid scales are their “weapon.”.
What is the main component of pangolin scales?
Modern research has shown the main component of pangolin scales is beta keratin, similar to our fingernails, with no medicinal value. However, wild animals, such as pangolins, are carriers of parasites and unknown viruses, which may cause severe infections once ingested.
Where are pangolins found?
Of the eight pangolins species, four are found in Asia and four in Africa. All eight species are listed under Appendix I (threatened with extinction) in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES).
Is pangolin blood a healing tonic?
Deceased Pangolins There is a false belief that pangolin blood is a healing tonic. No one knows how many of these heavily trafficked animals are left in the wild. © Xiao Shibai/Wild Wonders China. Pangolin Scales There is a false belief that pangolin scales contain medical value to cure various illnesses.
What is the habitat of a pangolin?
These animals are able to occupy an assorted range of habitats, from forests to grasslands to savannahs. Millions of other species live in the same habitat as the ground pangolin. These other organisms are incredibly ...
Where do pangolins live?
They generally reside in central and southern areas of Africa, including the countries of Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa.
How long do pangolins stay in their burrow?
After moving in search of food, pangolins return to their burrow, which they will use for months at a time.
