Indian Pangolin                                             

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Context: Forest officials seized live pangolins from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve of Bihar.

About Pangolins:

• Pangolins, despite being listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 continue to be the world’s most trafficked mammal.
• The Indian pangolin is the largest among eight pangolin species.
• The nocturnal animal lives in burrows and feed on ants and termites.
• It practices
  • Volvation is a defensive behavior in certain animals, in which the animal rolls its own body into a ball, presenting only the hardest parts of its integument, or its spines to predators.

Pangolins in India:

• Both Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) are found in India.

Habitat:

Indian Pangolin

• Widely distributed in India, except the arid region, high Himalayas and the North-East.
• The species is also found in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Chinese Pangolin

• Found in the Himalayan foothills in Eastern Nepal, Bhutan, Northern India, North-East Bangladesh and through Southern China.

Threats to Pangolins in India:

• Hunting and poaching for use as a protein source and traditional medicine and international trade for its meat and scales in East and South East Asian countries, particularly China and Vietnam.

Protection Status:

IUCN Red List

• Indian Pangolin: Endangered
• Chinese Pangolin: Critically Endangered
• Both these species are listed under Schedule I, Part I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/border-forest-officials-seize-live-pangolins-deer-horns-on-bihar-nepal-border-81907