Pangolin Impacts On Habitat and Ecosystem
Habitat that Needs the Pangolin That Needs the Habitat
One pangolin consumes about 70 million insects per year (Life Cycle, 2012). Pangolins are great for soil aeration and soil tilling. Without them, insect populations would rise exponentially to unhealthy levels, disrupting the natural ecosystem flow. Also, without the soil movement pangolins eating style provides, the plants growing in the pangolin's habitat wouldn’t have the tilling and nutrients that they need. The reason pangolins are so heavily sought after by humans is due to their significance in medical practices. The pangolin’s scales are believed to have cured all healing properties more specifically to treat skin conditions, improve blood circulation, and cancer (Chinese Medicine, 1938).
image depicting a dead pangolin in a jar (Scaling Up, 2016)
Pangolin Survival is at Risk
image depicting armor made from a pangolin (r/ArmsandArmor, 2015)
Pangolins are the most trafficked animal in the world. Over 1 million have been trafficked over the last ten years, purchased for their scales, meat, and blood. While they’re mainly used in traditional Eastern medicine, Pangolin skin is used for accessories in the US. Since they live in the ground, the secondary threat is land degradation. Their habitat is often compacted/broken by agriculture, commercial/residential development.