Potential Distribution of the Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Different Land Covers of Nepal: Implications for Conservation

Hari Prasad Sharma,Mingxia Zhang,Bibasa Khadki,Sujan Maharjan,Laxmi Baral,Namrata Bhandari,Bhagawat Rimal,Laxman Prasad Poudyal,Nimisha Karki,Ripu Kunwar,Bipin Kumar Acharya,Hem Bahadur Katuwal,Sujita Dhakal,Kedar Baral,Sandhya Sharma,Prakash Thapa,Suman Acharya,Prativa Kaspal,Ashish Tripathi

doi:10.3390/su12031282

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities have driven many wildlife species towards extinction. Among these species, the geographic distributions of many are poorly documented, which can limit the effectiveness of conservation. The critically endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is experiencing population decline throughout its range due to land-use changes and illegal trade for food and traditional medicine. Using distribution records and maximum entropy modeling, we predicted the potential distribution of the Chinese pangolin across Nepal. Most suitable potential habitats of the Chinese pangolin occurred in forest areas of the mid-hill region in central and eastern Nepal, followed by cultivated land. Almost all potential suitable habitats of the Chinese pangolin occurred outside of protected areas, and most of them were encroached upon by cultivated land, human settlements, and infrastructure developments. The results from this study provide baseline information on the potential suitable habitats of the Chinese pangolin in Nepal, which helps to develop site- and species-specific management plans and to identify priority areas to minimize the current threats to the pangolin and enhance the stewardship of species conservation.

Highlights

Many wildlife species are at risk of extinction in response to anthropogenic activities, including climate change, habitat alteration or loss, biological invasion, infrastructure, or combinations of these and other factors [1,2,3]
The aim of this study was to identify the potential habitats of the Chinese pangolin within existing
We acknowledge that our distribution model was based on the available locations concentrated in the mid-hills of Nepal

Summary

Introduction

Many wildlife species are at risk of extinction in response to anthropogenic activities, including climate change, habitat alteration or loss, biological invasion, infrastructure, or combinations of these and other factors [1,2,3]. The extinction rates of species and the relative effects of factors causing extinction risk vary across regions, in relation to changes in land cover [6]. Conservation of species depends on understanding of their ecological needs, which first requires knowledge of species’ distributions and habitat associations [7,8]. The Chinese pangolin is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and in the protected mammal species of Nepal’s Wildlife Protection Act 1973 [17,18]. The primary cause for their threatened status is poaching for illegal trade of scales and meat [16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26]

Objectives

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Conclusion