Pangolin Case Study

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Globally eight species of pangolin are distributed across two continents i.e. Asia and Africa. Their closest living relatives are the Xenarthrans – anteaters, armadillos, and sloths (SavePangolins, 2011). They are classified as Asian Pangolins and African Pangolins. The Asian Pangolins include: 1. Indian or thick-tailed Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) 2. Chinese or Formosan Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) 3. Malayan or Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica) 4. Palawan or Philippine Pangolin (Manis culionensis) The African Pangolins include: 1. Giant Pangolin (Manis gigantean) 2. Cape Pangolin (Manis temminckii) 3. Long-tailed Pangolin (Manis tetradactyla) 4. Tree Pangolin (Manis tricuspis) Taxonomical classification of Pangolin Kingdom: Animalia…show more content…
It showed that they are nocturnal, however due to their great sense of smell, they can locate their prey(ants and termites). They sleep throughout the day by rolling into a ball like structure. He further added that giant pangolin is active during the day, some pangolins are arboreal and some dig underground tunnels upto 11 ft. deep and they also have swimming ability. Pangolins eat ants and termites and because of this specialized diet, it becomes very difficult to raise pangolin in captivity as it rejects unfamiliar insect species (SavePangolins, 2011). In captive condition, they are fed with milk, meat and eggs. No one knows the lifespan of pangolin in the wild, however it has reportedly lived a maximum of twenty years in captivity (SavePangolins,…show more content…
The mounds of ants were observed through the sites where pangolin’s presence was recorded whereas the mounds of termites were not as abundant as ant mound. They also found that the estimated population density was 0.84 pangolins per square km and juveniles (39%) were present more than yearlings (23%). The vegetation cover of pangolin habitat was seen to vary between 20% and 70%. The distribution of Chinese pangolin was found throughout most of the areas of Asia. They were recorded across Taiwan, many areas of Southern China, island of Hainan through North India, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh (Chao, 2001). The habitats of pangolin were recorded in primary and secondary forests, bamboo forests and agricultural lands. Due to its low fecundity rate and high economic importance they are decreasing and have been listed under “lower risk” category in Taiwan (Chao,

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