The pangolin is the most trafficked mammal in the world by recorded seizure tonnage. There are eight species — four Asian and four African — and all eight are listed on CITES Appendix I.
The four Asian pangolins
- Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) — Critically Endangered. Range across southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Bhutan, Nepal and northern India.
- Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) — Endangered. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.
- Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) — Critically Endangered. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar.
- Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis) — Critically Endangered. Endemic to the Palawan island group.
The four African pangolins
- White-bellied (tree) pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) — Endangered. Central and West African rainforests.
- Black-bellied (long-tailed) pangolin (Phataginus tetradactyla) — Vulnerable. Central African rainforests.
- Giant ground pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) — Endangered. Equatorial Africa.
- Temminck's ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) — Vulnerable. East and Southern Africa, including Kenya and Tanzania.
Why pangolins are trafficked
Pangolin scales — made of the same keratin as human fingernails and hair — are used in some traditional-medicine markets despite no clinically demonstrated medicinal effect. Pangolin meat is also a luxury food in parts of East Asia. The combination drove Asian populations to functional collapse over the past two decades, which is why African pangolins are now under intensifying trafficking pressure.
How pangolins are seized
UNODC's World Wildlife Crime Report documents seizures of multiple-tonne pangolin-scale shipments at major Asian and African ports. A single shipping container can hold the scales of thousands of pangolins.
How WARN fits in
WARN's planned pangolin work aims to support partner rehabilitation work in Malaysia, Vietnam and East Africa. Pangolins seized in raids urgently need expert care — they are notoriously hard to keep alive in captivity, which is exactly why dedicated pangolin sanctuaries matter so much.
Sources: IUCN Red List, CITES Appendix I, UNODC World Wildlife Crime Report, UNEP-WCMC.
We need your support to make this happen
World Animal Rescue Network is at the launch stage of this work. We do not yet have rescue numbers to share — and that is exactly why your support matters now. Every donation helps us put trained teams on the ground, secure veterinary supplies and equipment, and reach the first animals before they are lost.
Donate today to fund our first deployments, or sponsor an animal to back a specific species through rehabilitation. You can also join the network as a volunteer, fundraiser, or monthly supporter.
Who should not treat this as a pet or medicine page?
Pangolins are not companion animals and their scales are keratin — the same protein as fingernails. This page will not help you keep one or dose one.
All eight species are CITES Appendix I. Commercial international trade is banned. A “farmed pangolin” souvenir is a trafficking product until a permit says otherwise, and tourists do not have that permit.
WARN’s in-network pangolin work is partner rehabilitation in Malaysia and Indonesia, with Vietnam as a trafficking and seizure context. We do not run a petting barn.
Which species actually turn up in WARN-country seizures?
Asian species dominate the historic trade; African species now fill the gap as Asian populations collapse. The Sunda pangolin is the one Malaysian and Indonesian partners see most.
Sunda (Manis javanica) — Critically Endangered — Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia. Chinese pangolin — Critically Endangered — including Vietnam. Indian pangolin — Endangered — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Philippine pangolin — Critically Endangered — Palawan, not a WARN operating invention; we mention it because the trade is one market.
African: Temminck’s ground pangolin in Kenya and Tanzania (Vulnerable); white-bellied and giant pangolins across equatorial forests. UNODC documents multi-tonne scale shipments. One container can be thousands of animals.
Live pangolins curl into a ball. That defence works against lions and fails against people with bags. Scale shipments are the industrial end; a night-market live animal is the retail end. Both need the same two responses: a report, and a specialist holding room that already exists when the raid happens.
Seized pangolins die easily in captivity. That is why specialist rehabilitation — not a general kennel — is the donor product. Appeal: /appeals/pangolins/. Symbolic adoption: /adopt/pangolin/.
Which pangolin claims are still false?
Medicine, farming, and “it’s just a scale” are the three that keep the trade alive.
- Medicinal scales. Keratin. No robust clinical effect. Substitutes exist. The trade continues on belief and price.
- Farmed supply. Pangolins do not farm like crocodiles. Captive breeding at commercial scale is not the source of market scale shipments.
- Only Asia. African species are now heavily targeted because Asian stocks crashed. A Kenya or Tanzania seizure is the same market.
- Cute ambassador events. These animals are nocturnal, stress-prone and poor exhibit animals. A photo tour is not rehabilitation.
What should a donor do with this briefing?
Fund seizure triage and specialist rehabilitation, not a named pet pangolin.
Pangolin appeal. CITES. Spot the products. Illegal wildlife trade hub.
Legal identity: /about/registration-status/.
