Abstract
Asian pangolins are a highly-threatened species group, mainly due to the perceived medicinal value of their scales. Increased demand from China has resulted in pangolins being the most trafficked mammal in the world. Three pangolin species are reported to occur in Bangladesh: Manis pentadactyla, M. crassicaudata, and M. javanica. No peer-reviewed studies exist detailing these species’ current distribution or status within Bangladesh. A literature review was conducted resulting in the clarification of conflicting reports and misidentified observations and specimen records. In this paper, we also report the current status of pangolins (Manis spp.) in Bangladesh based on semi-structured interviews, camera trapping, media queries, and field surveys employing traditional ecological knowledge and non-randomized transect surveys. Ethnozoological knowledge pertaining to the natural history of M. pentadactyla is also reported from experienced Mro tribal hunters. The critically endangered M. pentadactyla was verified to occur in northwest, northeast, and southeast Bangladesh in natural and degraded habitats. Interviews with the Mro tribe in the southeast indicate that pangolin populations there were likely extirpated in 2014 due to skilled commercial collection beginning in 2010. Evidence of extant M. crassicaudata and M. javanica populations remain unverified and questionable, and historical records of M. crassicaudata and M. javanica are likely a result of misidentification.
Highlights
Bangladesh is rich in biodiversity, yet geographically-explicit knowledge regarding the status and distribution of pangolins, as well as many other species, is limited
A consensus existed amongst the interviewed villagers who claim that pangolins were extirpated from most of the southern regions within the Chittagong Hill Tracts by the end of 2014
Our preliminary investigation confirms that M. pentadactyla still occurs in Lawachara National Park, several adjacent protected areas, and occasionally ranges into bordering tea plantations
Summary
Bangladesh is rich in biodiversity, yet geographically-explicit knowledge regarding the status and distribution of pangolins, as well as many other species, is limited. Pangolins are a highlythreatened order of mammal whose presence in Bangladesh is debated in the literature. IUCN considers the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and Chinese pangolin (M. pentadactyla) as critically endangered [1,2], while Indian pangolins (M. crassicaudata) are considered endangered [3]. A review of the literature detailing the distribution of three pangolin species reported to range Bangladesh reveals that the existing body of knowledge for these species is scant, contradictory, and unreliable. This knowledge gap limits the efficacy of pangolin conservation efforts for the greater Indo-Burman region.
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