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| The Indian Pangolin: |
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| Seized Pangolin scales |
Few of us know about this animal called the pangolin, or scaly anteater, found in the tropical forests of Africa and Asia, including India. It’s an odd creature, donning an armour – not unlike a knight of the medieval ages. It has a very narrow, long tongue that extends over 15 inches, coated with a gluey substance to enable it to probe nests, mounds and suchlike for ants, termites, etc. that make for its unique insectivorous diet. The pangolin has impressive digging powers, can live deep underground, is a capable swimmer, yet may be found up a tree, as it’s an agile climber as well. In fact, India’s pioneering naturalist and officer of the Imperial Forestry Service FW Champion said of the pangolin, “this astonishing survivor of the past ages may well be the most remarkable animal found in the Indian jungles.” Pangolins are nocturnal, shy, and when threatened they curl up into a tight ball—which offers excellent protection, even from predators like lions and tigers.
But not from man.
An ugly truth about the pangolin is that currently it is the ‘hottest’ item in the illegal wildlife market, so much so that it is now considered the ‘new rhino’ – a species traditionally in demand and slaughtered ruthlessly for its horns, pushing one species of rhino (the Javan) in Asia to virtual extinction with less than 50 remaining in the wild. The Vietnamese subspecies of the Javan rhino has been pronounced extinct after the last rhino was found dead with its horn removed. In Africa too, the Western black rhinoceros is now extinct, while other rhino species are being massacred at unprecedented scales. The slaughter of the pangolin is on similar scale, only its plight has failed to grab headlines or attention. All eight sub-species of the pangolin, across their range in Asia and Africa are in trade, and in dramatic decline, including the Indian pangolin.
Source: conservationindia.org
