Chinese pangolin
Chinese pangolin | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Pholidota |
Family: | Manidae |
Genus: | Manis |
Subgenus: | Manis
|
Species: | M. pentadactyla
|
Binomial name | |
Manis pentadactyla | |
Subspecies[4] | |
See text | |
Chinese pangolin range |
The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a
Characteristics
The Chinese pangolin has the appearance of a scaly anteater. Its scales are typically grayish blue. Its head and body measure about 40–58 cm (16–23 in) and its tail measures about 25–38 cm (9.8–15.0 in).[5] A mature Chinese pangolin weighs from 2 to 7 kilograms (4.4 to 15.4 lb). It has 18 rows of overlapping scales accompanied by hair, a rare combination in mammals. It has a small, narrow mouth and a little, pointed head. Its claws grow in as it grows older. The female gives birth to a single offspring at a time.
A newborn pangolin weighs about 93 g (3.3 oz), its length is about 45 cm (18 in). The Chinese pangolin reproduces in April and May when the weather warms. The young are born with soft scales, which harden after two days. Although the young pangolin can walk on its first day, the mother carries it on her back or tail.[6] If the mother feels threatened, she immediately folds her baby onto her belly with the help of her tail. Male pangolins have been observed allowing the female and baby to share his burrow.
Taxonomy
Manis pentadactyla was the
- Manis pentadactyla auritus (by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1836)[7][8] from mainland Asia
- Manis pentadactyla pusilla (by Joel Asaph Allen in 1906)[7][8] from Hainan
Distribution and habitat
The Chinese pangolin is native to southern
Behaviour and ecology
The Chinese pangolin is a rather secretive, nocturnal animal. It moves slowly. Its hard scales work as a protective cover from predators, and when it feels threatened, it curls into a ball ("volvation").[10]
Diet
The Chinese pangolin feeds mainly on insects, particularly
Gut contents of a wild juvenile individual killed by dogs in Hong Kong on November 24, 2013 included only 25,803 ants and 812 termites, representing 6 genera and 9 species. Ants represented the main food source in terms of species richness (8 species), abundance (97%), and biomass (98%), the most abundant species being Camponotus nicobarensis, Polyrhachis tyrannica, and Crematogaster dohrni.[12] The invasive yellow crazy ant was also present in the stomach contents, a species commonly found near human settlements and at forest edges rather than in undisturbed forest, suggesting this individual foraged at forest margins, unlike the disturbance-avoiding behavior observed within heavily hunted rural populations.[12][13]
Due to its specific diet, it can become arduous to provide the appropriate food for captive animals. Since the 1970s "pangolins are now almost unknown to visitors and are exhibited infrequently in zoos", and have "historically been difficult to maintain, with most captive animals dying within a short period after capture". When in their natural habitat, this species lives "on a diet of
Threats
The Chinese pangolin is threatened foremost by poaching.[1] Some Chinese people eat its meat, and its scales are used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In the 1960s, about 170,000 to 180,000 Chinese pangolins were seized annually across the Chinese provinces Fujian, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangdong.[15] The
Chinese pangolin scales are sold to treat a wide variety of ailments, from cancer to upset stomach to asthma. Other pangolin body parts are also used in traditional Chinese medicine. 71% of the TCM practitioners interviewed in a 2020 study believed that pangolin scales could be substituted by other ingredients "in at least some, if not all, treatments".[17] Local people in eastern Nepal consider pangolin scales as good-luck charms.[18]
Though pangolins have been protected by legislation since the 1970s and 1980s, people still choose to hunt these endangered animals. After random inspections in May 2014, at the
In April 2013, the
Conservation
In 2016, CITES moved the Chinese pangolin from its Appendix II, designating species not directly threatened with extinction but in need of protection to prevent exploitation, to Appendix I, reserved for species most directly threatened with extinction. The Appendix I listing prohibits commercial trade in wild-caught specimens.[1] Many range countries have already passed legislation to protect it:
- 1972 – Wildlife Protection Act.
- 1973 – Nepal made it a Schedule I protected animal under the National Parks and Wildlife Protection Act.
- 1976 – Hong Kong implemented the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance to protect this species and others that are endangered.
- 1989 – China classified the species as a State Category II protected animal with the Protection of Wildlife Act.
- 1990 – Taiwan added the entire Manis genus to be protected under the Wildlife Conservation Law, first passed in 1989.
- 1992 – China increased protection of the species using the Regulations on the Implementation of Protection of Terrestrial Wild Animals legislation. In the same year, Thailand classified the genus Manis as protected under the Wild Animals Reservation and Protection Act B.E. 2535.
- 1994 – Myanmar enacted the Protection of Wildlife and Wild Plants and Conservation of Natural Areas law, which fully protected the species.
- 2000 – China established more defined terms for the punishment of crimes specifically involving pangolins.
- 2006 – China enacted the Regulations on Management of Import and Export of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to meet CITES guidelines. Additionally, Hong Kong increased its protection of the Chinese pangolin with the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants law. In 2006, Vietnam classified it as a fully protected species in group IIB of Decree 32 in the Management of Endangered, Precious, and Rare Species of Wild Plants and Animals.
- 2007 – China intensified its regulations for the use of pangolins in traditional medicines by terminating pangolin hunting licenses, and requiring current stockpiles of pangolin scales to be registered and subject to trade only through designated buyers, like hospitals. Meanwhile, Laos declared the species as near extinction, but of high importance in the prohibition category of the Wildlife and Aquatic Law.
- 2012 – Bangladesh granted protection of the Chinese pangolin through the Wildlife Conservation and Security Act.[1]
- 2020 – China raised the protection status of all pangolin species, including the Chinese pangolin, to the highest level.[21]
China has passed much more legislation for pangolin protection than other countries, because the species' population has drastically declined in China over the last few decades. This is the direct result of extreme poaching for pangolin scales and meat.
Conservation efforts
In May 2016, a poll representing 1,892 Chinese adults revealed that more than 80% of the Chinese public want pangolins to be protected. The survey was led by Aita Foundation and Humane Society International.[22]
The
Another alternative to legislation, proposed by IUCN, includes offering positive incentives, like monetary payments or control over land's resources, to local communities for their involvement in conservation efforts.[24][failed verification] Other researchers have proposed the importance of finding biological substitutes for endangered species used in traditional medicines.[25] DNA barcoding and analysis could be used to determine what common species are genetically similar enough and produce similar effects as the Chinese pangolin scales. To crack down on poaching, the barcoding technique could also be used for accurate detection of species products being imported and exported.
The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), a non-profit and non-governmental organization is particularly proactive in doing research and collecting field data for the conservation of Chinese pangolins. Since July 2017, the Beijing-based NGO has established three Chinese pangolin Community Conservation Areas in Hunan, Guangxi and Jiangxi provinces.[26]
In late August 2017, CBCGDF confiscated 33 Chinese pangolins from Chinese poachers and released them to the Guangxi Wildlife Rescue Centre. Suggestions from the foundation such as the improvement of their rescue regulations and procedures; their immediate release to the wild after full recovery; keeping information open to the public; revising the endangered species conservation laws and regulations in Guangxi, followed the release. However, only 14 Chinese pangolins survived.[citation needed] At the World Pangolin Day 2017, CBCGDF called for deletion of pangolin scales from the
See also
- List of mammals in Hong Kong
- List of mammals in Taiwan
References
- ^ . Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Appendices I, II and III". Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ a b Linnæus, C. (1758). "Manis pentadactyla". Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I (Decima, reformata ed.). Holmiae: Laurentius Salvius. p. 36.
- OCLC 62265494.
- ISBN 978-1-906780-71-5.
- ^ "Chinese Pangolin Facts". Animals. 19 December 2018. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ JSTOR 3504143.
- ^ S2CID 245731455.
- ^ Bhandari, N.; Chalise, M. K. (2014). "Habitat and distribution of Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla Linnaeus, 1758) in Nagarjun Forest of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal". Nepalese Journal of Zoology. 2 (1): 18–25.
- PMID 27221793.
- ^ a b Shibao, W.; Naifa, L.; Yingmei, Z.; Guangzhi, M.A. (2004). "Assessment of Threatened Status of Chinese Pangolin". Chinese Journal of Applied and Environmental Biology. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ S2CID 52101507.
- S2CID 87726711.
- PMID 19360575.
- ^ Wu, S. & Ma, G. (2007). "The status and conservation of pangolins in China" (PDF). TRAFFIC East Asia Newsletter. 4: 1–5.
- ^ Foley, James A. (17 March 2014). "Plight of the Pangolin: The Most Trafficked Animal on Earth Needs More Protection". Nature World News. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- .
- ^ Katuwal, H.B.; Neupane, K.R.; Adhikari, D. & Thapa, S. (2013). Pangolins trade, ethnic importance and its conservation in eastern Nepal (Report). Kathmandu, Nepal: Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation and WWF-Nepal.
- ^ Clifton, M. (2014). "Armor Is Not Enough to Protect Pangolins". Animals 24-7. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "12 Chinese Men Whose Boat Had Frozen Pangolin Meat Convicted Of Poaching In Philippine Park." Canadian Press, The (n.d.): Points of View Reference Center. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
- ^ "China raises protection for pangolins by removing scales from medicine list". The Guardian. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ "Survey Results in China Reveal Strong Public Support for Pangolin Protection : Humane Society International". Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ a b Challender, DWS; Waterman, C; Baillie, JEM (2014), "Scaling up pangolin conservation" (PDF), IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group Conservation Action Plan, Zoological Society of London
- ^ Challender, Dan. "Positive Incentives for Conserving Pangolins in Asia and the Challenges to Be Overcome." SULiNews 7 (Dec. 2013): n. pag. IUCN. Web.
- PMID 24173429.
- ^ "中华保护地".
- ^ "今天是穿山甲日,环保组织呼吁列为一级保护动物、从药典删除__中国青年网". news.youth.cn.
- ^ "Chinese NGO contributes biodiversity data to global platform". China.org.cn. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
External links
- EDGE of Existence (Chinese pangolin) – Saving the World's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species
- IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group – Chinese pangolin
- ADW entry
- Jung-Tai Chao. General Status of Formosan Pangolin Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla
- Cryptozoology – The Critter