PANGOLIN
The world’s most trafficked mammal
FACTS
PANGOLINS ARE AMAZING!
Pangolins are the only mammals in the world covered in scales.
Pangolin are active and feed at night.
They have the ability to curl up into a ball to protect themselves from large predators. This animal has no teeth, but uses a long and sticky tongue to eat ants and termites – their favorite food in the wild.
Pangolins can consume up to 200,000 ants per day!
Mother pangolins breast feed and keep their young close. Mother pangolins carry pups safely on their tails when they venture out at night to hunt for ants and termites.
2 pangolin species in Vietnam
Worldwide, there are eight pangolin species: four species in Asia and four species in Africa.
SUNDA PANGOLIN
Manis javanica
Habitat & Distribution
- primary and secondary forest, including lowland dipterocarp forest, and human disturbed areas. In Vietnam, they are found in a variety of habitats, though areas with primary forests support more abundant population
- in Vietnam: from Nghe An to the Southern provinces
- in the world: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand
CHINESE PANGOLIN
Manis pentadactyla
Habitat & Distribution
- a wide range of habitats, including primary and secondary tropical forests, limestone, bamboo, broad-leaf and coniferous forests, grasslands, and agricultural fields.
- in Vietnam: from the Northern provinces to Nghe An
- in the world: Bangladesh, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, China and Vietnam
THREATS
THE FUTURE DOESN'T LOOK BRIGHT FOR THE PANGOLINS!
Pangolins are the most illegally trafficked mammal in the world.
Every year, approximately 100.000 individual pangolins are poached from the wild to supply illegal domestic and international trade, primarily in their scales, which are used for traditional medicine, and meat, which is considered a delicacy.
Because of this, pangolins could disappear before most of the world has even heard of them.
WHAT SVW HAS BEEN DOING TO SAVE THE PANGOLIN
SVW is conducting a holistic approach to save this incredible creature.
*Statistics from 2014 to June 2022
SVW is the largest organization in Vietnam working primarily with pangolins. Since SVW was founded in 2014, we have rescued more than 1,651 pangolin individuals, nearly 60% of which have been successfully rehabilitated and released back to the wild.
Throughout the range of pangolins in Vietnam, SVW has been deploying Anti-poaching teams to improve site protection, reducing hunting and extinction pressure on the threatened species. The team, working in conjunction with a myriad of projects from other SVW teams, has proven to successfully increase the number of pangolins in the wild where they operate.
The illegal wildlife trade is having a devastating impact on wildlife in Vietnam, many of which are endemics. As a result, Chinese Pangolins are facing extinction unless urgent action is taken to reverse population declines and provide a pathway to recovery.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
ROLLY THE MOTHER
Rolly was poached by a snares trap, transported to a van with five other pangolins, and stuffed inside a box. She was rescued and brought to the Pu Mat Rescue Center for treatment in late August 2020. Her health gradually improved, but her leg did not. The vet took her to Cuc Phuong to amputate the hind leg. They discovered she was pregnant during an examination of the incision and an ultrasound. Chie was born four months later, on the third day of 2021.
In June 2021, Rolly and her baby were transferred to the semi-wild area for training and assessment of being released back into the wild. That’s when we knew she had difficulties moving and climbing in search of food. She couldn’t be released back to the wild with her daughter in Feb 2022. Our animal keepers often call her Chie’s mother. She is very shy and loves sleeping on straw mattress.
