SEA-DISC Palawan Pangolin
Poaching
The BIGGEST Problem
Originally hunted for subsistence and traditional medicine, the pangolins have been threatened by this demand in local and national trade since the 1980s. From 2009 to 2014, however, there was a recorded shift from hunting for these traditional reasons to hunting for international trade. The higher demand caused an 85% decrease in their population from 1980-2018 in southern Palawan and a tragic 95% decrease in northern Palawan (Fabro, 2020). Asian pangolins in general have felt this rising pressure. Coming primarily from China and Vietnam, the demand is mostly for their meat and scales used in traditional medicine markets. Their scales are believed to help with:
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Asthma
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Gastrointestinal disease
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Inflammation
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Flatulence
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Ulcers
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Photo Credit: Singapore Customs/National Parks Board
One might think that, if it works medicinally, this pangolin is worth it to hunt. The sad truth, however, is that there has been no proven benefit to pangolin-derived medicines.
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Between 2018 and 2019, 6,894 pangolins were seized.
We humans have played a significant role in the endangerment of the Palawan Pangolin. Our selfish practices have had direct and indirect effects on their homes and populations.
Photo Credit: TRAFFIC
Deforestation
Human greed continues
Poaching is a big issue for the pangolin, but another issue is threatening the liveliness of this animal and all the others who share its ecosystem. This issue is habitat destruction through deforestation. The Palawan province has put many protections into place in its forest, but illegal logging is becoming more common. (Anthony Fabro, 2021) The Palawan province’s population has also been steadily increasing, so the forests are being cut down for urban development. Along with the pangolin, seven endemic birds species, 19 types of land mammals, and 24 species of reptiles (Panela, 2014) are threatened by deforestation. Because the pangolin is already faced with the major threat of poaching, the loss of habitat affects them at a higher level.
This loss of forest cover also affects biodiversity. Biodiversity is very important because, without it, an ecosystem cannot be healthy. WIthout a varying selection of organisms, ecosystem services that are provided from certain organisms become absent.
Photo Credit: Dario Novellino
The threats to the Palawan pangolin are amplified because of these two reasons:
Reproductive Rates
Unlike animals like rabbits or other small rodents, pangolins have low reproductive rates. They have a gestation period of 18 weeks (4.5 months) and a brood only yields one, uncommonly two, offspring, called a pangopup. Pangopups become full adult pangolins and reach sexual maturity at 2 years old. They only breed once annually, so a pangolin, in its lifetime, could birth at most 18 pangopups. (Andrew Helmsworth, 2021)
Low Population
Even before poaching and major deforestation, pangolins already had a low population. Residents of Palawan's province have reported a low density of pangolins since the threats to pangolins began. (IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group, 2021) Because pangolins have a naturally low population, human exploitation affects them disproportionately.