PANGOLINS IN PERIL

Pangolins are the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world.

By Paul Irven

Every year an estimated 100,000 individual pangolins are captured from the wild for the illegal wildlife trade and since the year 2000 over one million pangolins have been killed. This level of illegal trade is clearly unsustainable without causing a serious impact on the world’s pangolin populations.

Pangolin scales are used in “traditional medicine”, whilst their meat (apparently similar to pork) is consumed in restaurants. Pangolin blood is drunk as an aphrodisiac, often directly from a live animal killed at the table. In addition, “pangolin wine” is made from soaking the whole body in rice wine to concoct a “health tonic” and pangolin foetuses are said to “increase virility” and are consumed in soup.

A vast criminal network has evolved around the illegal trade in pangolins, in the same way it has done with so many other illegally trafficked species around the world. This network involves a wide range of people, starting from the local villagers who are often easily recruited to work as collectors who scour the forest floor at night looking for the pangolins. The animals, by their very nature, are easy to collect. They are nocturnal and timid. When disturbed, they curl into a ball and with no other defence, they are simply picked up.

The illegal wildlife trade is big business, usually dominated by highly organised and powerful gangs using wellestablished methods and transit routes, often aided and abetted by corrupt officials who are willing to turn a blind eye to the situation when persuaded by bribes. In the illegal wildlife trade, money opens doors. Apart from the collectors and trappers, there is a long and complex chain of people involved in the trade including smugglers, shippers and importers to the local market traders and ending at the consumer who is creating the demand. The illegal wildlife trade also incorporates drug dealing, money laundering, the sale of black-market goods and the trade in weapons. These activities are often connected.

Most illegal wildlife trade follows well-established transit routes from the country of source, through various other countries, by means of either air, sea, or road to their final destination. Africa and Asia are obviously the continents of origin for pangolins, but those pangolins from Africa must endure a far greater journey than those originating from Asian countries. Whilst those pangolins coming from Asian countries may have a shorter distance from origin to destination. However, their journey may well be more complex and indirect, passing through more locations. For example, the pangolins originating in

Malaysia are smuggled along a transit route that passes through Laos to Hanoi in Vietnam to the border with China at Lang Son. Then, once over the border, they may travel to various other locations within China, passing through many hands. Hanoi is known as the biggest hub for illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam supplying the whole of Asia, with China being the largest consumer in the world. Although this border at Lang Son is heavily guarded, the trucks are often only given a quick, perfunctory check (despite corruption) before they are sent on their way, usually to the towns of Pinxiang and Nanning in China. However, some consignments are detected and in 2003 over 5,000 pangolins, bound for China, were seized by the Thai authorities. They had travelled through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

In the past, the Asian pangolins were more heavily traded than their African counterparts. However, since the Asian species are becoming much harder to find due to depleted populations, the African species are now in greater demand. Nigeria is currently the hub for the illegal pangolin trade in Africa. It is surprising that with all the prior knowledge of transit routes and smuggling gangs, more could be done to stop this illegal trade, but unfortunately the smugglers are constantly finding new ways to avoid detection. The key to stopping this illegal trade is education, starting with teaching young people about the pangolins and dispelling the myths. This, in turn, would eventually reduce the demand and then the supply, this causes the money to reduce and the whole situation should collapse in time.

How did it all start?

The IUCN`s TRAFFIC Bulletin (a quarterly journal highlighting and documenting the world’s illegal wildlife trade) first mentioned the illegal pangolin trade in 1988.

Obviously, it is quite possible that the pangolin trade existed prior to 1988, but probably to a much lesser degree than it is today, and it was certainly not well documented at that time.

Since then, consuming pangolin body parts has become embedded in some Asian cultures, passed down through the generations, it is now a part of the life of many people in these countries. Linked to this, the Covid-19 virus is known to have originated or have been present in many animals including bats and pangolins.

Species

There are eight species of these timid, slow-moving and defenceless scaly anteaters in the world. Equally divided between Africa and Asia –four species in each continent. All eight species are threatened with extinction and despite being fully protected by CITES, three species are “Critically Endangered”, whilst three are classified as “Endangered” and two are classified as “Vulnerable”. More recently the “Formosan” pangolin (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla) has been recognised as a sub-species of the Chinese pangolin. Due to the continuous and increasing illegal trade, it is highly likely that all species will soon be regarded as Endangered, if not Critically Endangered, before too long. They have quietly existed for some 65 million years, but unfortunately humans are now their greatest threat.

Pangolin Rescue and Rehabilitation.

Saving Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) is a national non-profit organisation in Vietnam that was “founded due to the critical need for more effective solutions to secure a future for Vietnamese wildlife”. Based at Cuc Phuong National Park, the headquarters were established in 2014, it is led by Executive Director Mr Thai Van Nguyen, along with a team of local volunteers. This dedicated team work tirelessly around the clock to rescue, rehabilitate and release Vietnamese wildlife, a large percentage of these animals are pangolins saved from the illegal wildlife trade. They also have an anti-poaching team which are based in the Pu Mat National Park serving to prevent and combat the illegal trade on the ground, clearing snares and apprehending suspects. For example, in 2008 the team destroyed 9,701 traps, dismantled 775 poachers camps, confiscated 78 guns and assisted in 558 arrests.

In recent years they have become specialists in the care of pangolins, some of which have also been bred in their new breeding facilities. This is where pangolins that cannot be returned to the wild are then used to contribute to the captive breeding programme. But first and foremost, as many pangolins as possible are rehabilitated back to the wild. By the end of 2021, the SVW have rescued a total of 1,540 pangolins, and of these, around 60% have been successfully released. This led Mr Thai Van Nguyen to be recognised for his incredible conservation work with pangolins and other native wildlife and was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize.

In Vietnam the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) are found, although both species are now Critically Endangered, indeed the Sunda pangolin population is becoming extremely low. Without the incredible work of the SVW the situation for pangolins in Vietnam would be far worse than they are.

Pangolins in Captivity

Historically, pangolins have not done so well in zoos. They were imported directly from the wild and kept as single animals, most of them arriving in an already weakened and dehydrated state, which made these poor specimens even harder to feed and therefore mortality was very high (with around 1 in 6 surviving).

Over 50 years ago, Nuremberg Zoo in Germany bred an African pangolin (species unknown), but it lived for only three months. Since then, very few zoos have kept, and even fewer have successfully bred pangolins.

A giant pangolin acquired by New York (Bronx) Zoo on 15th June 1949 was probably one of the first giant pangolins to be seen alive outside Africa. Sadly, this animal refused all food and only survived for six days in New York. Then, on the 3rd February 1954, a young female giant pangolin arrived at Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, this animal lived until the 12th March 1958.

Two births occurred at Antwerp from wild-caught animals that were already pregnant – the first was in 1968 and the second was in 1970. The first infant lived for nearly a year. Sadly, the mother of the second baby died 24 hours after giving birth to a stillborn infant.

Only ten European zoos have ever kept giant pangolins. They are; Antwerp, Berlin, Duisburg (1955-57) Frankfurt, Krefeld, Munich, Barcelona (until 1966), Paris Jardin des Plantes (a male from 1978 till 1979), Tierpark Hellabrunn, and Dierenpark Wassenaar received one animal in July 1964.

Plus, a small number was kept at London Zoo in the UK. As far as I know, there are currently no giant pangolins in captivity anywhere in the world.

Diet

One of the biggest obstacles in keeping pangolins alive in zoos is providing a suitable insectivorous diet (comprised of ants and termites). Keepers tried experimenting with various substitute foods before moving onto more suitable bee- larvae, ant-eggs and silk-worm larvae, and although these were found to be more suitable, finding a reliable and regular supply, in large enough quantities, was not so easy. Another problem was the pangolins’ reluctance to feed properly in captivity, even when provided with the correct diet, due to their nervous and timid disposition.

In more recent years dieticians in America have developed a special “insect crumble” made from commercially farmed insects which are made into a moist crumbly paste. To encourage the pangolins natural clawing method of feeding some “slow feeding dishes” (similar to those developed to help slow down the feeding of domestic dogs).