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PANGOLINS IN PERIL A VANISHING SPECIESP angolins, the scaly anteaters of Asia and Africa, are facing extinction. They are the most illegally traded mammal in the world, with a staggering one million pangolins believed to have been taken from the wild over the past decade. 1Pangolins are disappearing at a rate that worries experts and could spell the end for one of natures most distinctive and unique animals. All eight pangolin species are currently listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES); this provides some control on international tradeparticularly for the Asian species, which have a zero commercial export quota for specimens removed from the wild. Despite this measure, the pangolin trade remains rampant and is threatening their future. It is critical to the survival of these animals that all eight species be transferred to Appendix I of CITES, the highest international protection available, which would effectively ban international commercial trade. S. Hurd-IFAWWHAT ARE PANGOLINS? Pangolins are primarily solitary and nocturnal mammals, spending the daytime hours sleeping in burrows or in tree hollows. 2Pangolins prey exclusively on ants and termites, employing their strong foreclaws to break up nest structures and their long, sticky tongues to lap up insects and larvae. 3,4Pangolins are known for the keratinous scales that cover their bodies from head to tail. When threatened, pangolins roll into a ball, exposing their scales razor-sharp edges. 5Unfortunately, this strategy is no match for human poachers, who can simply pick up the frightened animals and bundle them into sacks. 6Pangolins also have low reproductive output. They produce only one offspring at a time and have a generation length estimated at seven to nine years, depending on the species. 7RANGE AND HABITAT There are four species of pangolin in Asia, and four in Africa. Pangolins are found throughout much of southeastern and eastern Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and across sub-Saharan Africa. 8They occupy a diverse array of habitats including tropical forests, grasslands, savannas, and deciduous forests. 9POPULATION STATUS Experts agree that all eight pangolin species are declining rapidly. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conducted assessments in 2014 for each pangolin species and found that all eight are “Threatened with Extinction” to varying degrees (Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable), due primarily to unmitigated poaching and international trade driven by demand for their meat and scales. 10 Tikki Hywood Trust Benjamin Tupper Ajit HuilgolDEMAND FUELS ILLEGAL INTERNATIONAL TRADE Pangolins are prized in China and Vietnam for their meat and scales. In traditional Asian medicine, powdered pangolin scales have a variety of uses, from dispersing congealed blood to promoting lactation. Additionally, pangolin meat is considered a delicacy and a status symbol, selling for up to $200 per kilogram. 11Demand for pangolin meat and scales in China and Vietnam is increasing rapidly. 12Evidence suggests pangolin populations in China have been commercially extinct since 1995, so poachers must look elsewhere to satisfy the burgeoning demand. 13For years they have targeted pangolins in neighboring Southeast Asian countries, taking the animals from the wild and shipping the meat and scales to China and Vietnam by the ton, leading to massive declines. 14Alarmingly, this trend has spread to Africa as authorities now regularly seize vast shipments of pangolin scales from African countries on their way to Asian markets. 15The number of pangolins poached from the wild in order to satisfy demand is staggering. It has been estimated that well over one million pangolins were killed to fuel this trade in the past decade, not including local consumption. 16And because pangolins fail to thrive in captivity, captive breeding as a “safeguard” is not an option. 17Without immediate action, entire populations of pangolins will soon be wiped out, and species-level extinction will become inevitable. TABLE 1: SELECTED LARGE SEIZURES OF PANGOLINS AND THEIR PARTS SINCE 2010 YEAR LOCATION OF SEIZURE COMMODITY APPROXIMATE WEIGHT (KG) 2010 Vietnam Scales 2,000 2010 China Frozen Pangolins and scales 9,432 2011 Indonesia Frozen Pangolins and scales 6,690 2011 Indonesia Frozen Pangolins + Scales 7,500 2012 China Scales 1,540* *Seizure also included several thousand kilograms of frozen pangolins 2012 Indonesia Frozen Pangolins 5,000 2013 Phillipines Frozen Pangolins 10,000 2013 Kenya Scales 534 2014 Camerooon Scales 1,500 2014 Hong Kong Scales 3,340* *Two separate seizures 2015 Uganda Scales 2,000 2015 Vietnam Scales 4,000 2015 Indonesia Frozen Pangolins and scales 5,100 2015 India Scales 10,000 2015 China Frozen Pangolins 11,500 Source: Media Reports Paul Hilton for WCS Saving Vietnams WildlifeTHE CASE FOR AN APPENDIX I LISTING UNDER CITES Securing stronger regulations at the international level is one crucial step that could help stem the trade in pangolins. At the 17th meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES (CoP17), in fall 2016, all eight pangolin species should be uplisted to Appendix I, the highest protection available. Pangolins clearly meet the criteria for this listing because all eight species are both “threatened with extinction” and “affected by trade,” as defined by CITES criteria in Res. Conf. 9.24 (Rev. CoP16). AFFECTED BY TRADE A species is “affected by trade,” according to Res. Conf. 9.24, if it is “in trade” and that trade “has or may have a detrimental impact” on the species. As the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world, pangolins are certainly “in trade.” 18Increasing demand for their parts has led to escalating poaching and seizures (Figures 1 and 2). Pangolin scales and carcasses are regularly seized by authorities in shipping containers, trucks, and airplane cargo holds from Southeast Asia, India, and Africa (Table 1). Rising demand has also led to surging prices. In Vietnam, prices per kilogram have increased rapidly since 1990. 19Meanwhile, in China, the value of one kilogram of pangolin scales has increased by 250 percent over the past five years. 20Similar trends are seen in Africa. For example, the monetary value for Manis temminckii has increased in Zimbabwe from $5,000 to $7,000 per specimen in just two years. 21And in Nigeria, the price of pangolins has increased tenfold over the past five years. 22 Trade is also having a “detrimental impact” on the status of the species. The IUCN Pangolin Specialist Group has identified hunting and poaching for illegal international trade in live animals, meat, scales, and other body parts, destined primarily for Asia, as the main threat to pangolins and the primary reason for precipitous declines. 23Further, pangolin scales are difficult to distinguish at the species level, particularly when traded in powdered form. 24Thus, listing all species on Appendix I would avoid the enforcement problem that would arise if some species were listed in different appendicesa problem we already see with a zero export quota being applied to the four Asian species but not the African ones. THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION A species is “threatened with extinction” if it meets one of several criteria in Res. Conf. 9.24. All eight pangolin species meet the last criteria: A “marked decline in the population size in the wild” is “ongoing,” “inferred or projected” based on “levels or patterns of exploitation.” The best available science indicates that all eight species are experiencing a decreasing population trend (Table 2). The decline in Asian pangolin populations has already shifted poaching pressure to African pangolin species, with legal and illicit trade numbers climbing dramatically in recent years. It is expected that this trend will continue or increase as all Asian species rapidly decline, 25and the “apparently rapid growth in demand from Asia” has led researchers to suggest that the current IUCN Vulnerable assessments for African pangolins may “need to be revised.” 26In addition to exploitation, pangolins are “threatened with extinction” due to decrease in size and quality of habitat and a high vulnerability to intrinsic factors (low reproductive output, low density, specialized niche requirements) and extrinsic factors (habitat loss, reduction in recruitment due to indiscriminate offtake). 35 As the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world, and in light of the IUCNs alarming projections, all eight pangolin species qualify as “affected by trade” and “threatened with extinction.” Therefore, pangolins meet the CITES criteria for an Appendix I listing and need the protection such a listing provides. Tikki Hywood TrustFIGURE 2: THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF PANGOLINS SEIZED PER YEAR SINCE 2003 FIGURE 1: THE NUMBER OF SEIZURES OF PANGOLINS AND THEIR PARTS FOUND IN MEDIA REPORTS SINCE 2003 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 NUMBER OF SEIZURES NUMBER OF PANGOLINS 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 NUMBER OF SEIZURES NUMBER OF PANGOLINS 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 Tikki Hywood Trust Tikki Hywood Trust Paul Hilton for WCS S. Hurd-IFAW TABLE 2: IUCN STATUS OF PANGOLIN SPECIES SPECIES IUCN ASSESSMENT (2014) Manis javanica Critically Endangered. Suspected declines of 80% over the next 21 years. 27 Manis pentadactyla Critically Endangered. Predicted continuing declines of 50% over a period of 21 years (three generations; generation length estimated at 7 years). 29 Manis crassicaudata Endangered. Suspected population declines of at least 50% in the next 21 years (generation length estimated at 7 years). 30 Manis gigantea Vulnerable. Will continue to decline by at least 40% over a 27-year period (9 years past, 18 years future). 31 Manis temminckii Vulnerable. Inferred past/ongoing and projected future population reduction of 3040% over a 27-year period (9 years past, 18 years future; generation length estimated at 9 years). 32 Manis tricuspis Vulnerable. Will continue to declin e by at least 40% over a 21-year period (7 years past, 14 years future). 33 Manis tetradactyla Vulnerable. Projected to undergo a population decline of at least 3040% over a 21-year period (7 years past, 14 years future; generation length estimated at 7 years). 34 Source: Media Reports. 36 Source: Media ReportsCover image S. Hurd-IFAW Natural Resources Defense Council 2016 Jeff Flocken, International Fund for Animal Welfare at jflockenifaw or +1 (202) 536-1904 Elly Pepper, Natural Resources Defense Council at epeppernrdc or +1 (202) 717-8193 Teresa Telecky, Humane Society International at tteleckyhsi or +1 (301) 258-1430 Sarah Uhlemann, Center for Biological Diversity at suhlemannbiologicaldiversity or +1 (206) 327-2344 Adam Roberts, Born Free USA at arobertsbornfreeusa or +1 (202) 450-3168 ENDNOTES 1 Challender, D. et al., “Scaling Up Pangolin Conservation: IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group Conservation Action Plan,” Zoological Society of London, 2014. 2 Ibid.; Kingdon, J. and M. Hoffman, “Order Pholidota: Pangolins,” in Mammals of Africa: Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceros (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013); Mahmood, T. et al., “Plant Species Association, Burrow Characteristics and the Diet of the Indian Pangolin, Manis crassicaudata, in the Potohar Plateau, Pakistan,” Pakistan Journal of Zoology 45, no. 6 (December 2013): 1533-1539; Akpona, H., C. Djagoun, and B. Sinsin, “Ecology and Ethnozoology of the Three-Cusped Pangolin Manis tricuspis (Mammalia, Pholidota) in the Lama Forest Reserve, Benin,” Mammalia 72, (2008): 198-202; Brautigam, A. et al., “Recent Information on the Status and Utilization of African Pangolins,” TRAFFIC Bulletin 15 (1994): 15-22. 3 Gaubert, P., “Family Manidae (Pangolins),” in Wilson, D.E. and R.A. Mittermeier (eds.), Handbook of Mammals of the World, vol. 2, Hoofed Mammals (Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, 2011). 4 Challender, D. et al., “Scaling Up Pangolin Conservation.” 5 Zhou, Z. et al., “Scaling Up Pangolin Protection in China,” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12, no. 2 (March 2014): 97-98. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid.; Baillie, J. et al., “Manis crassicaudata,” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2014.3, 2014, iucnredlist/details/12761/0iucnredlist/ details/12761/0; Challender, D. et al., “Manis pentadactyla,” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2014.3, 2014, iucnredlist/details/full/12764/0; Challender, D., et al., “Manis javanica,” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2014.3, 2014, iucnredlist/details/12763/0; Lagrada, L., S. Schoppe, and D. Challender, “Manis culionensis,” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2014.3, 2014, iucnredlist/details/136497/0; Pietersen, D. et al., “Manis temminckii,” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2014.3, 2014, iucnredlist/details/12765/0; Waterman, C. et al., “Manis gigantea,” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2104.3, 2014, iucnredlist/details/12762/0; Waterman, C. et al., “Manis tricuspsis,” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2014.3, 2014, iucnredlist/details/12767/0; Waterman, C., et al., “Manis tetradactyla,” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2014.3, 2014, iucnredlist/details/1276./0. 8 Challender, D. et al., “Scaling Up Pangolin Conservation.” 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. 11 Zhou, Z. et al., “Scaling Up Pangolin Protection in China.” 12 Challender, D., “Asian Pangolins: Increasing Affluence Driving Hunting Pressure,” TRAFFIC Bulletin 23, no. 3 (September 2011): 92-93. 13 Challender, D. et al., “Scaling Up Pangolin Conservation.” 14 Challender, D., “Asian Pangolins: Increasing Affluence Driving Hunting Pressure.” 15 Challender, D. and L. Hywood. “African Pangolins Under Increased Pressure from Poaching and Intercontinental Trade,” TRAFFIC Bulletin 24, no. 2 (2012): 53-55. 16 Challender, D. et al., “Scaling Up Pangolin Conservation.” 17 Yang, C. et al., “History and Dietary Husbandry of Pangolins in Captivity,” Zoo Biology 26, no. 3 (May 2007): 223-230. 18 Zhou, Z. et al., “Scaling Up Pangolin Protection in China.” 19 Challender, D. et al., “Manis pentadactyla.” 20 Lin, J., “Pangolins in Peril: What Conservation Has to Do With Global Security,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, August 21, 2014, journal.georgetown.edu/pangolins-in-peril-what-conservation-has-to-do-with-global-security/. 21 Pietersen, D. et al., “Manis temminckii.” 22 Central African Republic, Chad, Cte dIvoire, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Libe
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