The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is under threat due to hunting for local consumption and illegal trafficking of scales and meat. The dearth of scientific studies on the ecology of the M. ...crassicaudata has impaired accurate assessments of its conservation needs. This study investigated the habitat preference and burrow characteristics of M. crassicaudata in a tropical lowland rainforest in southwest Sri Lanka. A total of 75 burrows (54 feeding burrows and 21 resting burrows) of M. crassicaudata in four different habitat types i.e. secondary forest, Pine-dominated forest, rubber cultivations and tea-dominated home gardens bordering forest were observed using fixed-width transects in order to characterize resting and feeding burrows of this species. The highest density of resting burrows was recorded from the secondary forest (4ha-1), followed by rubber cultivations (2.5ha-1) while no resting burrows were recorded in the Pine-dominated forest and the tea-dominated home gardens bordering forest. Feeding burrows were more abundant in the Pine-dominated forest (5.7ha-1). The burrow depth, burrow opening height, and width were significantly larger in resting burrows compared to feeding burrows. Resting burrows were located at higher elevations (75-100m) with moderately high slopes (450-600), dense canopy cover (>75%) and away from human habitation. Feeding burrows showed a greater variability in terms of associated environmental features. The study further revealed that Indian pangolins exclusively prefer habitats with rocks and boulders under which they dig resting burrows while the location of feeding burrows largely overlaps with the distribution of prey species. The resting burrow design consisted of a bending tunnel that initially slopes downward and then gradually inclines at an angle between 20 and 300, leading to the resting chamber. Our study highlights the importance of conserving fragmented secondary natural forests in changing landscapes of the southwest lowlands of Sri Lanka as these habitats appear to be critical to sustaining populations of M. crassicaudata.
The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is the only pangolin species present in Sri Lanka. Growing concerns over international trading and trafficking of pangolins and the recent listing of all ...eight extant pangolin species in Appendix I of CITES have generated considerable interest in M. crassicaudata among conservationists in Sri Lanka. However, only limited research has investigated the distribution, abundance, and threats to Indian pangolins and robust estimates of distribution, population size, and threats require intense research based on long-term data. This study presents an update on the distribution, knowledge of habitats and conservation status of the Indian pangolin in Sri Lanka based on an extensive data set collected from primary and secondary data sources. Our findings confirmed the occurrence of Indian pangolin in habitats up to 1850m above mean sea level with a higher concentration of Indian pangolin populations occurring in the North-west, North-central, South-west lowlands and South-eastern parts of the island. The species was mostly recorded from tropical shrubland, tropical dry forest, tropical moist lowland forest, tropical dry grassland and tropical heavily degraded former forest habitats. The findings of the study revealed that wildlife crimes related to the Indian pangolins are rising. Hunting for subsistence, live capture to sell as meat, hunting for scales, and traps intended for other agricultural pests are the main threats to M. crassicaudata in Sri Lanka. Recent confiscations of pangolin scales by law enforcement authorities and growing incidents of poaching pangolins for illegal trade hint at the existence of local niche markets for pangolin meat and scales with a possible international trading pathway of M. crassicaudata scales from Sri Lanka to South India. The data presented here provide important information for global and national conservation status assessment of M. crassicaudata, and an impetus for conservation planning for the species in Sri Lanka.
The habitat occupancy, abundance, and population density of Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) are poorly understood owing to their nocturnal and cryptic behaviors. This study presents the results ...of the first comprehensive study on the habitat occupancy, abundance, and population estimation of Indian pangolins using camera trap data in a tropical lowland rainforest habitat in the southwest of Sri Lanka. We conducted a camera trap survey using eight camera traps to sample the study site by partitioning it into 72 grid cells of 500 m x 500 m size. Traps were moved to new locations every 7 days. Data from 4480 camera trap nights at 640 locations in the 2000ha-Yagirala Forest Reserve were analyzed. The two main habitat types in the forest; Pine dominated forest (200 ha) and natural forest (1800ha) yielded 20 and 35 successful captures. A mean capture rate of 35.71 and 6.94 was recorded from the Pine forest and the natural forest. We further demonstrated the applicability of using camera trap data to estimate the population density of pangolins by fitting a Binomial-Poisson mixture model for a single visit capture data. All photographs of Indian pangolin were recorded between 7.00.00 pm and 6.00 am, with the highest frequency of photographs captured between 4.00 am, and 5.00 am (n = 10), followed by 8.00 pm and 9.00 pm (n = 08). The survey further provided exciting insights into burrow usage, possible nomadic behavior, and indirect interactions with sympatric mammals in the habitat. The implications for long-term monitoring and conservation are further discussed.
The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) has a wide distribution in the Indian subcontinent and is a threatened species throughout its range due to hunting, poaching, trafficking, and destruction of ...natural habitats. Many rescue programmes for Indian pangolins have had limited success due to the paucity of literature on the diet, ecology and its behaviour. This study investigated the dietary composition and foraging habitat preference of the Indian pangolin in a tropical lowland forest-associated landscape of Southwest Sri Lanka. Five types of habitat were considered in this study: forest, rubber plantation, cinnamon cultivation, oil palm plantation, and tea-dominated home gardens/cultivated areas. The foraging intensity of Indian pangolin in the five habitat types was assessed using signs of foraging activities observed in five 10 × 10 m plots placed along a transect. Ten transects were established in each habitat assessed. The forest habitat was preferred in the studied landscape, followed by rubber plantations, the cinnamon cultivations, oil palm plantations and the tea-dominated home gardens/cultivated areas. Indian pangolins mostly predated on termites, as indicated by the number of feeding events on termitaria and termite-infested logs. Faecal content analysis further revealed that the undigested matter (by weight) was predominantly composed of grit (53.3%), insect matter (37%) and plant matter (9.7%). The digestibility of termite heads, mouthparts, abdomens, and legs was high compared to that of ants. This difference in digestibility was evident from the presence of significantly more heads, mouthparts, abdomens, and legs of ants in the faecal matter, compared to that of termites. However, undigested termite wings were frequently observed in the faecal matter. Termites of the genus Odontotermes and ants of the genera Oecophylla, Anoplolepis, Camponotus and Monomorium were the main prey species of the Indian pangolin in the studied area. The findings on the dietary composition have implications in captive rearing and husbandry of Indian pangolins. In addition to natural forests, the findings of the study suggest that human-modified agricultural lands adjoining forest also serve as important as foraging habitats for Indian pangolins, and such habitats should be considered in long-term conservation planning.
Development of an effective conservation management strategy for the Indian pangolins (Manis crassicaudata) found in Sri Lanka is hindered due to lack of solid evidence based distribution and ...ecological data on Indian pangolins. We employed a rapid and cost-effective method based on reliable information by combining primary and secondary data. The method was predominantly based on secondary data from the official records maintained by the government and non-governmental institutions related to wildlife conservation. The primary data collection was carried out depending on the findings from the secondary data sources; i.e. structured interviews and field studies were carried out in the localities that identified from secondary data sources. As a source of primary data, the structured interviews were carried out with stakeholders including the officials of government and nongovernmental institutions, hunters and villagers of the identified localities.•This method allows collecting quick and accurate data on the distribution, habitats and conservation threats for the species.•Cost effective method to collect ecological data of elusive mammals in large areas.•Efficient method to identify trends of pangolin related crimes and illicit trade.
Display omitted
Accurate morphological description of species has essential implications in field identification and cladistics. Pangolins (Mammalia: Pholidota) are considered the world's most trafficked mammals. ...The Indian pangolin has a wide geographical distribution in the Indian subcontinent. However, morphoanatomical variations of M. crassicaudata across its range are poorly understood. The published morphoanatomical descriptions have disparities, partly due to the lack of standard protocols and procedures in morphometric data collection and reporting, thus making comparisons among different records less meaningful. This Method Article presents protocols and procedures to follow in morphometric data collection and reporting for M. Crassicaudata. Morphometric parameters can be measured and reported under three age classes; juvenile, sub-adult, and adult, as well as the sex to describe the species' sexual dimorphism. The proposed protocol includes 13 morphometric measurements of a pangolin body. Procedures to count and report the number of body scales with special reference to the body region of a pangolin and scale morph-type are described. Morphometry of the claws of forelimbs is described using the Curvature Linear Index 1.
Display omitted
An accurate morphological description and analysis based on reliable data are unavailable for the geographically isolated population of
in Sri Lanka. This study provides the most updated ...morphological description of
with special reference to body measurements directly obtained from 27 specimens collected island-wide. Morphological parameters were recorded under three age classes that were defined based on their body weight (BW) and total body length (TBL); juvenile (BW: <4.3 kg TBL: <56.0 cm), subadult (BW: 4.3-7.3 kg TBL: 56-101 cm), and adult (BW: >7.3 kg TBL: >101 cm) and gender to reveal sexual dimorphism based on morphometric parameters. The TBL of adult males ranged between 137 and 177 cm while body weight ranged between 20.4 and 48.8 kg. The average count of body scales was 511 ± 21. The body scales were found arranged in 13 longitudinal rows with the highest number of scales observed on the vertebral scale row (16 ± 1). Three major scale morphs were identified; broad rhombic scales, elongated kite-shaped scales, and folded shaped scales. Broad rhombic shaped scales was the dominant scale type (80.49%) on the body (405 ± 7). The tail-length to body-length ratio of an Indian pangolin was 0.87. The tail length of an Indian pangolin is a reliable predictor of the TBL and has potential implications in quick field data gathering.
Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is the only pangolin species present in Sri Lanka. There is no comprehensive assessment of its ecology or conservation status carried out in the Sri Lankan ...context. The dataset described herein is a compilation of information on the distribution, habitats and conservation status of Indian pangolins in Sri Lanka which is collected from a variety of primary and secondary data sources. All information included in the dataset has been recorded between January 2000 and December 2018. The data on distribution, crimes and rescue activities involving Indian pangolins all over the country were collected from the registries maintained by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Department of National Zoological Gardens and non governmental organizations committed to the conservation of wildlife in Sri Lanka. Verified records from mass media and reliable field data gathered by the authors and their contact networks were further included in the dataset. The data on the distribution can be analyzed to identify the different habitats of the Indian pangolins and their abundance in different climatic zones. The data on distribution include the recorded area, habitat and approximate GPS coordinates of the recorded locality. The data on crimes involving pangolins was extracted from the offices of the Department of Wildlife Conservation which record the crime, date of crime, approximate GPS coordinates of localities where crimes occurred, nature of the crime and fines/actions taken against the offenders. Data on the rescue events include approximate GPS coordinates of the places where the Indian pangolins were rescued, health conditions at the point of rescue and post rescue status 1.
PDF
