Today is Endangered Species Day, and we're highlighting the Chinese pangolin.
A Chinese pangolin.
Chinese pangolins (Manis pendactyla) are found throughout various countries in southeast Asia including Nepal, through to China, and Vietnam. They live in a range of habitats such as forests, grasslands, and agricultural landscapes, and as with other pangolin species, they primarily feed on termites and ants (hence why pangolins are sometimes referred to as "scaly anteaters.")
Pangolins in general are known as the world's most illegally-trafficked taxa, and they're killed for their meat, scales, blood, and fetuses, which are used in traditional medicines. Chinese pangolins are estimated to have declined by an astonishing 80% in the wild in recent years. Consequently, Chinese pangolins are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN and under CITES Appendix I. Significantly, in 2020, China uplisted Chinese pangolins to Class I protection under the Wildlife Protection Law, and also removed pangolin scale from the 2020 edition of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacopoeia.
Although Chinese pangolins remain in jeopardy, there is some hope that these recent steps will help to address their main threats and allow their populations to begin recovering.
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