SAVE THE PREHISTORIC MAMMAL FROM EXTINCTION
World Pangolin Day 2025 is being observed on February 15th. It is an annual event held on the third Saturday of February to raise awareness about pangolins and the threats they face globally.
Pangolins are prehistoric mammals, that have been around for 80 million years, are now threatened with extinction. The pangolin looks like a curious combination of an armadillo and a baby dinosaur. Hundreds of scales made of keratin cover their bodies and keep them safe from all predators except humans.
Indian pangolin is myrmecophagous (feeding on ants and termites) and protects forests from termite infection. In the ecosystem, they act as a natural pest controller by exclusively feeding on ants, termites and insects; and also act as habitat engineers as their behaviour of digging a burrow for shelter helps soil to aerate and rotate the mineral cycle, by excavating burrows, they likely affect soil processes, including turnover of organic matter and may act as bioturbators. Pangolins are nocturnal, solitary animals that spend most of their time on the ground, but they are also good climbers.
Pangolins are illegally trapped, trafficked, and killed for their scales and body parts by organized crime networks on a large scale. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in some countries notably in China and Vietnam. The Pangolin scale is a medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), commonly used to promote lactation in women, treatment of infertility, rheumatism and many more diseases. There is no reliable evidence for the clinical value of the pangolin scale and body parts. Researchers from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Forensic Laboratory have debunked the cultural myth that the pangolin scale has medicinal properties.
Pangolins are ritualistically hunted for meat by some tribal communities. Mass hunting during “Shikar Utsav” in some northeastern and other tribal-dominated states of India poses a serious threat to pangolins. Pangolin scales are also used in rituals and as decorative items amongst local communities. Some believe that rings made from pangolin scales can cure piles. Such superstitions still exist in eastern Indian states, such as Odisha.
We have a really good sense of how many tigers are left in the wild, how many elephants are left in the wild, and how many rhinos are left in the wild, but we don’t know how many pangolins are left. It will be so sad if a species like that goes extinct before we can even study them in the wild.
All eight pangolin species are protected under national and international laws. In the red list of animals published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Indian Pangolin is listed in the Endangered (EN) category. The species is also included in the CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) list, designating it as a protected species in all range states. Faced with the threat of extinction, CITES strictly prohibits international trade of these species. Pangolins are also well protected at the national level under ‘Schedule-I’ of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 of India (the highest level of protection by the act). Offences related to species listed in Schedule I are punishable with imprisonment between a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 7 years as well as a fine of no less than INR 25,000 and for subsequent offences the fine is enhanced to one lakh Indian rupees.
Despite protective measures, pangolins in India are widely exploited and traded both domestically and internationally. Increased online access has become a booming market for wildlife trafficking, as online platforms are increasingly more accessible and easier to navigate by sellers and making it harder to track and control. Though the species have been assigned different conservation statuses, it is required to strengthen the monitoring and awareness programs to minimize the threat of illegal trafficking of pangolins and save this prehistoric mammal from extinction.
Author: Sasmita Lenka,
About the Author:
Ms. Sasmita Lenka is the Deputy Conservator of Forests with the Odisha Forest, Environment & Climate Change Department, and also serves as the Deputy Director of Inquiry at the Lokayukta Odisha. Previously, she served as the Division Forest Officer at Athgarh Forest Division from 2018 to 2021, where she led crucial investigations into wildlife trafficking. Her dedication to protecting endangered species and tackling environmental crimes has been evident throughout her career.
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