Abstract
The Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a “Critically Endangered” insectivorous mammal. There is a lack of information on the ecology, distribution and behavior of this species in Nepal, even though community forests in the Midhills Region of Nepal are considered to be prime habitats for the species. We conducted an ecological assessment of the habitat use of this species in nine community forests covering an area of 170.69 ha in Balthali village in Kavrepalanchok district, Nepal. We divided each forest into 50 × 50 m grids and searched for Chinese Pangolin burrows along 50 m transects in each grid. We categorized burrows into two types, new and old burrows, and recorded 10 environmental variables for each burrow. We found a total of 542 burrows, including 323 old burrows and 219 new burrows. The average width and height of a burrow opening was 21.66 ± 3.94 cm (n = 542) and 22.42 ± 5.02 cm (n = 542). The total density of burrows in the study area was 3.1 ha−1, with new burrows density of 1.2 ha−1 and old burrows density of 1.8 ha−1. We found most burrows in sites with an elevation range of 1400 - 1500 m above sea level, gentle slopes, brown colored soil, high density of tree crown cover and undergrowth vegetation, southern exposure, within 150 m from a water source and less than 200 m from a human settlement. Our study has generated baseline data on the habitat use of Chinese Pangolin, which we hope will help in designing site-specific action plans for Chinese Pangolin conservation in Kavrepalanchok district, Nepal.
Highlights
The Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a small burrowing insectivorous mammal found in China, Hong Kong, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Bhutan [1]
The highest burrow density was recorded in Kamaladevi CF with 11.9 ha−1 and the lowest burrow density was recorded in SanuGaun CF with 0.38 ha−1 (Table 1)
We investigated habitat use by Chinese Pangolins by counting burrows in nine community forests in Balthali village, Nepal, and recording 10 environmental variables at each burrow
Summary
The Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a small burrowing insectivorous mammal found in China, Hong Kong, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Bhutan [1]. The Chinese Pangolin is one of the most illegally trafficked species in the world due to the high economic value of its scales and meat [2] [3] and it is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora [4]. Chinese Pangolins excavate burrows to search for termites, as well as for resting locations to avoid the cold weather [8] [9]. The locations of their burrows during different seasons can indicate habitat preference in terms of the environmental variables existing in the area [10]. The aim of our study was to increase the understanding of Chinese Pangolin’s habitat use in Nepal by assessing their burrow locations in nine community forests in Nepal
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