Reviving Chinese Pangolin Conversation: A Brief Knowledge Sharing

Abstract

Chinese pangolin is a unique critically endangered small mammal that is covered by scales and feed on termites and ants. It is dark brown or dark gray in color and lives in coniferous and broad-leaf forest, agricultural land, barren land, bamboo forest, grassland Chinese pangolin is widely distributed in the continent of Asia but the detailed studies on population status, ecology, behavior, and illegal trade is lacking. With the developmental activities escalated in Asian countries, the threats to the pangolin population and potential habitats are increasing. Additional athropogenic factors such as deforestation, encroachment, forest fire, over exploitation, hunting, poaching, and illegal trade have caused steep decline in the number of Chinese pangolin in wild. In fact, the pangolin is the most illegally traded animal in the contemporary world. Therefore, it is crucial that we revive and prolong communication regarding the current global and national status, distribution, behavior, illegal trade, and conservation practices across scales to promote the long-term conservation of the Chinese pangolin population and habitat. In the end, this chapter provides some important policy recommendations to promote Chinese pangolin conversation.