This was adapted from an article on Mongabay. To read the full article, click here.
The Indian pangolin, the only species of pangolin found in Sri Lanka, has long been hunted for meat, but is facing a rising threat from poachers transporting their scales to Asia. A team of researchers lead by Priyan Perera has been studying pangolins in Sri Lanka since 2013. The conservationists recently documented an illegal trade route from northwest Sri Lanka to India by fishing boat and then on to China, where the scales are used in traditional medicine.
Pangolins in Sri Lanka are also experiencing an increased rate of rescue and release due to habitat loss. Typically pangolins inhabit forested areas away from civilization, but in Sri Lanka pangolins have been found more and more in rural areas, forested areas and some semi-urban areas, evidence that humans are encroaching on their habitat. The increased rate of pangolin rescue and release is a positive, but conservationists are concerned that they are losing habitat to human activity, and that this will continue to be a growing threat to their survival. Researchers have sighted pangolins at elevations much higher than previously recorded; 6,070 feet above sea level when the last highest recording was 3,600 feet of elevation.
These sightings point to an adaptability that conservationists have not seen before in pangolins, but more data is needed to understand these unique creatures and the threats they face in order to establish a comprehensive conservation strategy.
Indian pangolins in Sri Lanka are being threatened by the illegal wildlife trade. Photo by Priyan Perera.
