Investigating the use of sensory information to detect and track prey by the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) with conservation in mind

Joshua D Dipaola,Marnoch Yindee,Joshua M Plotnik

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65898-x

Abstract

Pangolins are of conservation concern as one of the most heavily poached, yet least understood mammals. The Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) in particular is a critically endangered species. Here, we investigate the behaviour of these pangolins, for the first time, using a battery of cognitive tasks based on a manipulation of available sensory information. In an object-choice task in which only one of two containers was baited with food, the pangolins were able to find the food with olfactory information alone (N = 2), but not with visual or acoustic information alone (N = 1). The single subject tested on all three domains was further tested on how he used smell to find food by providing him with an opportunity to find it from a controlled distance or by using scent trails as a guide. The results suggest that our subject may have the capacity to exploit scent trails left by prey which can be tracked to a final source, though we found no evidence to suggest that he had the ability to initiate hunts based on distant prey odors. Despite the small sample size, this is the first controlled experiment to investigate pangolin foraging behaviour and cognition, which may have implications for the future protection of pangolin habitat based on the location of prey species.

Highlights

Pangolins are of conservation concern as one of the most heavily poached, yet least understood mammals
Conservation concern for pangolins is further complicated by the difficulty of studying them in the wild[17,25,29,30,31], as their reduced numbers provide fewer sampling opportunities and our lack of understanding regarding their ecology impairs our ability to locate those that remain
Our initial sample included three subjects (M = 2, F = 1), one pangolin showed no interest in the testing apparatus while being habituated to the research materials and no data were collected on this subject

Summary

Introduction

Pangolins are of conservation concern as one of the most heavily poached, yet least understood mammals. Investigations of the proximate, cognitive mechanisms that underlie an animal’s decision-making processes can have important implications both from a theoretical (i.e., for understanding how cognition evolves across species to help an animal forage, interact with conspecifics, and avoid predation, for example) and an applied conservation perspective For the latter, there is a growing need for conservationists developing endangered species strategies to collaborate with ecologists, biologists and psychologists in order to gain a greater understanding of animal behaviour and cognition. There is a growing need for conservationists developing endangered species strategies to collaborate with ecologists, biologists and psychologists in order to gain a greater understanding of animal behaviour and cognition To this end, the experimental object-choice task can be used to better understand the importance of particular sensory modalities in an animal’s foraging behaviour. Research on pangolin audition is sparse, with mixed reports on the quality of their hearing[24,36], and no direct evidence of how they might integrate acoustic information into their general behavioural ecology[47]

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