World Pangolin Day

It is a small toothless, sticky-tongued creature which thrives on ants and termites, and lives in hollow trees and burrows.
When threatened, the pangolin curls up into a tight ball, exposing its scales to prevent attack by predators. But these scales have been the reason why pangolins have reached endangered status.
It’s a belief that these scales have medicinal properties hence, these pangolins are picked from the forest and are boiled to death, to extract scales.
The species is legally protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and is also categorised as ‘endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
There are 8 species of pangolins including Indian pangolin. All of these have shown decline in their population.

Eastern Ghats Wildlife Society (EGWS) is a non-profit organisation which promotes community-based wildlife conservation in the Eastern Ghats region of South India through education, conservation-oriented research, public participation, institutional capacity building and sustainable development.
It has a vision to conserve the biodiversity of Eastern Ghats through harmonizing public with nature.

One of the challenges in conservation of this species is lack of appropriate data. Little is known about the conservation status and activity pattern of the Indian pangolin throughout its range.
Pangolins are widely found in 3 coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh which are part of Eastern Ghats.
EGWS in collaboration with Save Pangolins and Pangolin Crisis Fund USA initiated an immediate conservation status survey to acquire vital data on the presence/absence of the pangolin species and specific human-induced threats.
EGWS is working with local people to understand their perceptions of rural communities living alongside the pangolin habitat.
They want to impart awareness about the threatened status and conservation significance of Indian pangolin among all major stakeholders.

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