Rare Wildlife of Pakistan

Indian Pangolin or Scaly ant-eater:-
(Mains crassicaudata)

                  Pangolin is only mammalian species with rigid scals around its body.  They are toothless mammals,  measuring between 30 to 80cm and weight from 11 to 17kg. They have overlaping scales,  long protrucible tongue and prehensile tail.

                Pangolins or scaly anteaters (order Pholidota, meaning ‘scaled animals’) are a group of unusual mammals with tough, protective keratin scales. The phylogenetic position of the Pholidota remains a disputed topic. Pangolins were once included together with the anteaters, sloths, armadillos and the African aardvark in the order Xenarthra (formerly Edentata), so named because of the lack of some or all of the teeth. It is now believed, however, that any morphological similarities between the pangolins and other ant-eating mammals are the results of parallel adaptations to a common way of life.

          The ancestors of the pangolins are thought to have been members of the suborder Palaeanodonta, which diverged from the ancestral edentates some 60 million years ago. These small, armourless animals rapidly became extinct but their successors evolved into the order Pholidota. The fossil record implies that the ancestors of modern day pangolins colonized Africa before Asia, suggesting Asian pangolins evolved later than their African relatives.

                  Today, the Pholidota is one of the smallest of the placental mammals, containing just one family, the Manidae, with eight living species. Four species are found in Africa and three in Southeast Asia.

Pangolins are of genetic interest due to the differing diploid number of chromosomes found in animals from different areas of their distribution. The Chinese pangolin M. pentadactyla can be distinguished from the Indian pangolin M. crassicaudata due to small scales and from the Sunda pangolin M. javanica due to the lack of pads on its’ soles.

Ecology:-

                  Pangolins have poor vision and therefore rely on their sense of smell to locate their prey, which consists exclusively of ants and termites. They rip open termite and ant nests with their strong fore- claws and use their long, sticky tongue to scoop the prey into their toothless mouths. Being nocturnal the pangolin sleeps during a day in a burrow which it digs itself.

                 Individuals are solitary and occupy a relatively large home range. Although capable of climbing trees, the species is thought to be largely terrestrial. Like other pangolins, the Pangolin is a good swimmer. Mating takes place in late summer or early autumn, during which time males may be observed fighting over the opportunity to mate with a female. A single (occasionally two) young is born the following spring.

                The young are equipped with scales which remain soft and flexible during the first few days of life. Although they are able to walk at birth, young pangolins are often carried on their mother's tail.

Habitate:-

                This species is found in a wide range of habitats, including primary and secondary tropical forests, limestone forests, bamboo forests, grasslands and agricultural fields.

Threats:-

                Pangolin has been intensively hunted for its meat, which is considered a delicacy, as well as for its skin, scales and blood which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. In parts of northern China it is tradition to catch pangolins when they emerge from their winter burrows in spring and keep them alive until sold at market. They are then killed by crushing the skull, after which the tongue is quickly cut and bled so the warm blood can be drunk as a tonic.

                The species may be harvested for local use, or for international export either before or after processing. Observations in mainland Southeast Asia indicate that there is very heavy unofficial, or at least unrecorded, international trade in pangolins and pangolin products. Hunters interviewed in Viet Nam reported that they now sell all pangolins that they catch. Prices paid to hunters now exceed USD 95 per kg in Vietnam, making national and international trade so profitable that local, subsistence use of pangolins for either meat or their scales has almost completely halted. Since the Chinese pangolin is more terrestrial than other Asian pangolin species it is probably easier to track using specially trained hunting dogs, and as a result may be at even greater risk from hunting than the related Sunda pangolin. Certainly the species is now extremely rare in parts of its range, such as Vietnam and Lao
PDR. Habitat loss and degradation may also be having a negative impact on the species, although evidence suggests that pangolins, in general, are able to adapt to modified habitats, provided their ant and termite food source remains abundant and they are not unduly persecuted.

              The latest IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red List of Threatened Animals' 2014, indicates the Indian Pangolin is globally endangered and the species is also placed in Appendix II of CITES.

Following are some main threats to Indian Pangolin:-

a.