The Pangolin Conservation Initiative – a transnational project funded through IUCN’s Save Our Species initiative – works at both ends of the supply chain to protect these Critically Endangered animals from international illegal wildlife trade.
Photo: ZSL Thailand & Thailand’s Department of National Parks In April 2016, Aroon Sukjitdee, a Community Outreach Project Manager for IUCN Member and project implementer the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), received a phone call from a local villager in Southern Thailand. The villager, knowing that the project team was in the area working to protect Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica), called to inform Aroon that one had been found on a local property. The villager’s son had insisted on calling the project team – the youth wanted to ensure that the pangolin wasn’t illegally trafficked.
Pangolins, also known as ‘scaly anteaters’, are highly sought after for their meat and scales and thus are one of the most poached and trafficked wild mammals on Earth. Thousands of pangolins are smuggled through Thailand every year, en route from Malaysia or Myanmar to China, where their meat is considered a delicacy and their scales are used in traditional medicines.
Locals can sell pangolins for around 2,000-3,000 Thai Baht/kg (around 50-70 Euro/kg). With adult pangolins weighing up to 12 kg, selling a pangolin is roughly equal to a year’s worth of wages for local villagers. This is what makes this story so remarkable – a local villager chose to report the found pangolin instead of selling it illegally for a hefty profit.
This could be due to the work of the Pangolin Conservation Initiative (PCI) – the biggest pangolin conservation project to date. Established in 2015 with support from Save Our Species (SOS), an initiative managed by IUCN, and Fondation Segré, a key SOS partner, the PCI is a transnational project that works to reduce demand and supply of pangolins and pangolin body parts.
The PCI helps protect four species of pangolins in two protected areas: black-bellied (Phataginus tetradactyla), white-bellied (Phataginus tricuspis) and giant pangolins (Smutsia gigantea) in the Dja Biosphere Reserve in Cameroon, and Sunda pangolins in the Khlong Nakha and Salak Phra wildlife sanctuaries in Thailand. Khlong Nakha is a protected area located along the Malaysia-to-China illegal wildlife trade route.
In China, PCI project work focusses on reducing demand for pangolin meat and scales through targeted social marketing campaigns.In Thailand, the project team collects information about Sunda pangolins, supports anti-poaching patrols and law enforcement personnel, and works towards raising awareness about pangolin trafficking and building trustworthy relationships with local communities.
Awareness raising and trust building paid off in this case, potentially helping to save a healthy pangolin.
After receiving the call, the project team went straight to the village to assess the pangolin’s condition. Fortunately, after the pangolin was fed and rehydrated, it qualified for immediate release into the sanctuary.
Just six short months ago, the PCI project team celebrated their first pangolin sighting. Now, they are celebrating their first successful pangolin rescue and release into the sanctuary, but they couldn’t have done it without the help of local communities.
- Barbara Pollini, ZSL Pangolin Project Leader, and Anna Patel, ZSL Landscape Intern
