White-bellied Pangolin Phataginus tricuspis

White-bellied Pangolin Phataginus tricuspis

Endangered

Locations: Angola; Benin; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d’Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea (Equatorial Guinea (mainland), Bioko); Gabon; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Liberia; Nigeria; Rwanda; Sierra Leone; South Sudan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Uganda; Zambia

The White-bellied Pangolin also commonly known as the Tree Pangolin is a fascinating creature that is like a giant pest controller, estimated to consume around 70 million insects per year. Pangolins don’t have teeth, rather they have scales lining their stomachs which aid them in the digestion of food that is swallowed whole.

White-bellied Pangolins are #endangered in #Africa by complex threats incl. #deforestation and #hunting. These amazing animals deserve to be saved from extinction. Support them with the brand #Boycott4Wildlife

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White-bellied Pangolins were often caught in abandoned or little-used oil palm plantations.

IUCN Red List

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Baby pangolins often ride on their mother’s backs and and are known as pango pups. They are able to use their tails to support their body weight and can walk upright on their hind legs.

The white-bellied pangolin lives predominantly in moist tropical lowland forests and secondary growth, but also lives in dense woodlands, especially along water courses (Kingdon 1971; Gaubert 2014). Sodeinde and Adedipe (1994) noted that White-bellied Pangolins were often caught in abandoned or little-used oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations in secondary growth. In southern Nigeria this species was widespread in both primary and secondary rainforests, altered forests (bush) and in farmlands (agricultural areas in former lowland rainforests; Angelici et al. 1999).

Populations have declined by up 40% over the past 21 years (3 generations) based on a combination of forest loss, in particular in West Africa where annual losses were 0.9% between 1990 and 2000 and 0.3% between 2000 and 2010 (Mayaux et al. 2013), increasing rates of exploitation of tropical African pangolins for local use and consumption (Ingram et al. 2018), and the advent of intercontinental trafficking of African pangolin scales since around 2008, much of which involves this species, and which evidence indicates is increasingly targeting pangolins for the illicit export of their scales (i.e. as opposed to as a by-product of bushmeat trade). It is estimated that between 2015 and July 2019 scales from the estimated equivalent of >400,000 African pangolins were seized en route to Asian markets (Challender et al. 2019, D. Challender, unpubl. Data)

This month we are celebrating the curious beauty of pangolins and raise vital awareness and funds for the plight of endangered species, teaming up with extremely talented artists to bring you ‘Artists for Pangolins’.

Help us turn the tide on extinction: https://t.co/gqWuHCngab pic.twitter.com/OJAEc3bS42

— David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (@DSWFWildlife) February 5, 2021

Conservation of pangolin species

Further Information

Pietersen, D., Moumbolou, C., Ingram, D.J., Soewu, D., Jansen, R., Sodeinde, O., Keboy Mov Linkey Iflankoy, C., Challender, D. & Shirley, M.H. 2019. Phataginus tricuspis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T12767A123586469. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T12767A123586469.en. Downloaded on 17 January 2021.

World Pangolin Day

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