# Pangolin — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Order Pholidota, family Manidae — eight living species across three genera (Manis, Smutsia, Phataginus)*

> Pangolins are the world's most heavily trafficked wild mammals; all eight species are threatened by illegal trade in their keratin scales, used in traditional medicine across Asia, with the Chinese and Sunda pangolins now Critically Endangered.

**IUCN status:** Threatened (Vulnerable–Critically Endangered)  ·  **WARN range:** Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Order / Family | Pholidota / Manidae (8 species) |
| Diet | Myrmecophage — ants and termites; up to ~200,000 insects per day |
| Body length | 30–90 cm head and body, plus tail (varies by species) |
| Weight | ~1.6 kg (black-bellied) up to ~33 kg (giant ground pangolin) |
| Tongue length | Up to ~25–40 cm; in large species longer than the body |
| Lifespan | Unknown in the wild; up to ~20 years recorded in captivity |
| Gestation | ~70–140 days (African species); about 6–7 months (Chinese pangolin) |
| Young per birth | Usually a single pup (occasionally 2–3 in Asian species) |
| Baby name | Pangopup |
| CITES | Appendix I (all 8 species; in force since January 2017) |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Pholidota
- **Family:** Manidae
- **Genera:** Manis (Asia), Smutsia & Phataginus (Africa)
- **Species:** Eight living species (e.g. Chinese pangolin, Manis pentadactyla Linnaeus, 1758)

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Varies by species: Vulnerable to Critically Endangered
- **Population:** No reliable global estimate; all eight species assessed as declining
- **Trend:** Decreasing (all eight species)
- **Assessed:** 2019 (Chinese & Sunda); African species 2019; group threatened since 2014
- **CITES:** Appendix I (all species; in force from 2 January 2017)
- Chinese and Sunda pangolins are Critically Endangered, Indian and Philippine are Endangered, and the four African species are Vulnerable — so a single group-wide IUCN category is misleading.

## Key facts: Pangolin
- Eight species exist — four in Asia (Chinese, Sunda, Indian, Philippine) and four in Africa (Temminck's ground, giant ground, white-bellied/tree, black-bellied/long-tailed).
- They are not uniformly Critically Endangered: Chinese and Sunda pangolins are Critically Endangered, Indian and Philippine are Endangered, and the four African species are Vulnerable — but all eight are declining.
- Pangolin scales are made of keratin — the same protein as human fingernails and hair — yet sell for hundreds of dollars per kilogram in traditional medicine markets despite having no proven medicinal value.
- Pangolins are toothless myrmecophages: they use a long, sticky tongue to eat ants and termites almost exclusively, consuming on the order of 200,000 insects a day.
- When threatened, a pangolin curls into a tight, scaled ball — effective armour against lions and leopards, but useless against poachers, who simply pick the animal up.
- No program has yet bred pangolins in captivity and released them back to the wild at meaningful scale, which is why protecting wild populations is the priority.
- China and Vietnam are the principal demand markets, and Africa has increasingly become the source as Asian populations collapse.

## Why Are Pangolin Scales So Valuable?
Pangolin scales are composed entirely of keratin — the same structural protein found in human fingernails, hair and rhino horn — and have no scientifically proven medicinal properties. Despite this, they command high prices in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, where they are claimed to treat conditions from poor circulation to lactation problems. Scales are typically dried, roasted and ground into powder. Demand has been driven by rising middle-class incomes in China and Vietnam, which turned luxury wildlife products — including pangolin meat in high-end restaurants — into aspirational goods. Consumer-awareness campaigns and tighter law have begun to shift attitudes, and in 2020 China removed pangolin scales from the approved ingredient list of its official pharmacopoeia, but enforcement remains inconsistent.

## The Shift to African Pangolins
As Asian pangolin populations collapsed, criminal networks pivoted to Africa. The two African ground pangolins (Temminck's in East and Southern Africa, and the giant ground pangolin in Central Africa) and the two tree-dwelling species in West and Central Africa are now poached at industrial scale and shipped to Asia. Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and East African ports appear repeatedly in major seizure records. The Africa-to-Asia trade typically runs through multiple transshipment points, using shipping containers and falsified customs paperwork, and individual multi-tonne scale seizures have been recorded.

## Can Rescued Pangolins Survive?
Pangolins are notoriously hard to keep alive in captivity. They are specialist feeders dependent on particular ant and termite species, and they are easily stressed by handling and unnatural environments — leaving them prone to respiratory infection and digestive failure. A handful of programs have bred pangolins (a Sunda population to a third generation, and Chinese pangolins at zoos in Taipei and Prague), but none has yet bred and released animals back to the wild at meaningful scale. Rehabilitation can succeed when animals arrive in good condition and are held in semi-wild enclosures with natural forage, but success rates stay low. Prevention — stopping poaching before it happens — is the most effective intervention, which is why WARN concentrates on anti-poaching patrol support, community reporting and faster seizure response.

## Distribution & Habitat
Pangolins live across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The four Asian species range through South and Southeast Asia and southern China: the Chinese pangolin across southern China and the eastern Himalayas, the Sunda pangolin through mainland Southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda islands, the Indian pangolin across the subcontinent, and the Philippine pangolin only on Palawan. The four African species occupy forests and savannahs from West Africa to Southern Africa. Some, like the two Smutsia ground pangolins, are terrestrial burrowers; others, like the white-bellied and black-bellied pangolins, are arboreal and use a prehensile tail to climb.

## The eight pangolin species at a glance
| Species | Region | IUCN status | Habit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) | Southern China, Himalayas | Critically Endangered | Ground-dwelling |
| Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) | SE Asia, Sunda islands | Critically Endangered | Ground & climbing |
| Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) | Indian subcontinent | Endangered | Ground-dwelling |
| Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis) | Palawan, Philippines | Endangered | Ground & climbing |
| Temminck's ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) | East & Southern Africa | Vulnerable | Ground-dwelling |
| Giant ground pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) | Central & West Africa | Vulnerable | Ground-dwelling |
| White-bellied / tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) | West & Central Africa | Vulnerable | Arboreal |
| Black-bellied / long-tailed pangolin (Phataginus tetradactyla) | West & Central Africa | Vulnerable | Arboreal |

## What WARN does
WARN focuses current pangolin rescue funding on Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, while keeping Vietnam, China and the African trade-route context live so supporters researching the wider pangolin crisis find accurate information. Because no captive-breeding-for-release program works at scale, that funding goes to protecting wild animals at source — anti-poaching patrols, community reporting networks and seizure-response teams in partner range countries.

Because pangolins can't be reliably bred and returned to the wild, every animal still out there is irreplaceable — and protecting them at source is everything. Your gift helps fund the anti-poaching patrols, community reporting networks and seizure-response teams WARN supports across its pangolin range countries, stopping the trafficking before it starts.

## Frequently asked questions: Pangolin
### What are pangolin scales made of?
Pangolin scales are made of keratin — exactly the same protein that forms human fingernails, hair and rhinoceros horn. They have no scientifically proven medicinal value. Despite this, they appear in traditional Chinese medicine and sell for hundreds of dollars per kilogram.

### How many pangolins are left in the wild?
There is no reliable global population estimate, because pangolins are nocturnal, solitary and live in dense vegetation. What is clear is that every species is declining: the IUCN's 2014 assessment estimated the Chinese pangolin fell by more than 80% over roughly 21 years (three generations), and the Sunda pangolin has seen comparable losses. All eight species have been listed as threatened on the Red List since 2014.

### Why are pangolins so hard to save in captivity?
Pangolins are specialist myrmecophages — they eat ants and termites almost exclusively and can consume on the order of 200,000 insects a day, which is extremely hard to replicate in captivity. They are also highly sensitive to stress, prone to respiratory infections and digestive problems, and easily injured when confined. A few zoos have bred pangolins, but none has yet succeeded in breeding and releasing them at meaningful scale.

### Is the pangolin trade legal?
No. All eight pangolin species were uplisted to CITES Appendix I — the highest level of protection — by a decision agreed at CITES CoP17 in 2016, which came into force on 2 January 2017, prohibiting commercial international trade. China removed pangolin scales from its official pharmacopoeia in 2020. Despite this, black-market trade continues because enforcement in source countries remains inadequate.

### What order and family do pangolins belong to?
Pangolins are the only living members of the mammalian order Pholidota and the family Manidae. The eight species fall into three genera: Manis (the four Asian species) and Smutsia and Phataginus (the four African species). Despite resembling anteaters and armadillos, they are not closely related to either.

### What is a baby pangolin called?
A baby pangolin is called a pangopup. Females usually give birth to a single pup, which rides on the base of the mother's tail and stays with her for several months. There is no widely accepted collective noun, because pangolins are solitary.

### Were pangolins linked to COVID-19?
Early in the pandemic, pangolins were investigated as a possible intermediate host for SARS-CoV-2 after related coronaviruses were found in trafficked Sunda pangolins. The animal's exact role, if any, in the origin of COVID-19 was never confirmed. What the episode did underline is the public-health danger of the illegal wildlife trade that pushes pangolins toward extinction.

### What can I do to help pangolins?
Supporting groups that fund anti-poaching patrols and seizure response in range countries — like WARN — is one of the most direct ways to help, because protecting wild pangolins at source is more effective than rescue after the fact. Reducing demand by never buying scale or meat products, and reporting suspected wildlife trafficking to the relevant authorities, also helps build the intelligence picture.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla)](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12764/168392151)
- [IUCN Red List — Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica)](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12763/123584856)
- [IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group](https://www.pangolinsg.org/)
- [WWF — Pangolin](https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/pangolin)
- [CITES — new trade rules in effect from 2017](https://cites.org/eng/news/sundry/2016/CoP17_outcomes)
- [Britannica — Pangolin](https://www.britannica.com/animal/pangolin)
- [Save Pangolins](https://www.savepangolins.org/)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/pangolin