Protecting Pangolins

 Over the past six months our ground-based partners have been focusing their attention on the Nyakweri ecosystem in Kenya which is one of only two places where giant ground pangolin are known to remain in the country. The area is not under formal protection and has sadly been heavily affected by deforestation for grazing livestock and charcoal production and now less than 20% of the forest now remains. Our partners research and monitoring of the giant ground pangolin in this area is being shared with government stakeholders in an attempt to catalyse action to stop deforestation to offer some hope for the remaining closed canopy forest and wildlife that live within it.

The team in the Nyakweri ecosystem will improve monitoring in the area to protect pangolins and estimate the number of giant ground pangolin within the area. This will be part of a new flagship programme, ‘Tipping the Scales In Their Favour”, for in situ protection for pangolin. This project will include the Counting Pangolins Programme – building on the pilot study previously carried out by the team. This will be the first attempt to estimate the density or number of pangolins within a specific area and will provide baseline data for future studies.

To further the conservation of the giant pangolin the team must be able to monitor them. Our partners have recently received permission from local authorities to tag up to 20 giant ground pangolin within the area in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service and Wildlife Research and Training Institute which will enable the team to gather vital research on pangolin populations, behaviour, habitat use and movements.

Our partners have expanded their community ambassador programme by recruiting four new community based pangolin guardians. This has been followed by a widespread community engagement program raising awareness about the importance of the giant ground pangolin, their distribution levels, and the risks they face. Over 200 meetings and bazaars have been carried out in the past six months, engaging over 2,900 community members.

All rangers within the area have now received critical training relating to pangolin and pangolin related crime. The Kenya Wildlife Service have also increased their surveillance for pangolin related crime, and community members are increasingly engaged in protecting pangolins, including immediately reporting incidents to the rapid response team.

Arrests for pangolin related crime have remained stable compared to previous years. Information received from community members suggests that an active trade in pangolin products continues, and 1.5kg of pangolin scales have been collected from members of the public and handed in during the past six months. We will continue to support and provide funding to increase surveillance for Pangolin related crime at a local, regional and national level.

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