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By Leilani Chavez
Knowledge of the Philippine pangolin, the country’s only pangolin species, is limited. Observations of the animal are even rarer. But unlike other pangolin species around the world that are on the brink of extinction, a new study suggests that with the right conservation measures, the endemic Philippine pangolin still has a chance to rebound.
In a study published last December in the journal Global ecology and conservation, researchers conducting an in-depth investigation found that Philippine pangolinsSweet culionensis) were spotted in 17 of the 24 municipalities of Palawan, the island province which is the only place in the world where this species occurs.
“This shows promise for the Philippine pangolin and suggests that it is not too late to put in place conservation efforts across the species’ range,” says lead author Lucy Archer of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), in Mongabay.
An enigmatic species
So little is known about the Philippine pangolin that, although IUCN considers the species to be critically endangered, there is no accepted estimate for its reference population. Scientific literature suggests the species was never common, and interviews with indigenous communities in 2018 suggest that it has been declining sharply since the 1980s, notes the IUCN.
However, the recently released survey gives rise to optimism.
Similar comprehensive surveys assessing local knowledge of pangolins, carried out in West Africa for the giant pangolin (Giant coal) and in China and Vietnam for the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), show that the inhabitants firmly believe that their species of pangolins are extinct: sightings are rare or non-existent. This is not the case with Filipino pangolins: locals still see them, although very rarely, and the number of areas where they can be found is high.
“Compared to similar studies on pangolin species elsewhere, these results suggest that Philippine pangolin populations may not have reached the critical levels shown by Chinese pangolins in China and Vietnam, or by giant pangolins. in Benin, ”says Archer. “It gives the species some hope.”
The survey took place from January to June 2019 and helps establish the range of the species based on the observations of residents. The locals call the animal balintong, which means “somersault”, in reference to his habit of rolling to hide from danger.
The Philippine pangolin was until 1998 considered a separate population from the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica), which occurs in much of Southeast Asia, but not in the Philippines. Its recognition as its own species coincided with a boom in local poaching: The high demand for pangolin scales in China and Vietnam, combined with increased enforcement on known Sunda pangolin trafficking routes, drove traffickers to look to the Philippine pangolin.
Range of the four species of Asian pangolins: Chinese, Indian, Sunda and Philippine pangolins. A mixture of colors in the maps indicates an overlap in the distributions of different species. Species ranges are based on IUCN Red List assessments (IUCN 2014). Note: Distribution maps are currently being updated by the IUCN Pangolin Specialist Group. Image courtesy of University of Adelaide / TRAFFIC. Image courtesy of University of Adelaide / TRAFFIC
Local conservationists also link an increase in Chinese projects in the Philippines with growing demand for pangolin meat in restaurants in Manila to meet the influx of Chinese workers and visitors. Within two years, Philippine pangolins have become one of the most trafficked species in the country, pushing them to Critically Endangered status on both the IUCN and National Red Lists.
Initial traffic seizures often resulted in shipments carrying both pangolins and various species of turtles. But since 2018, Philippine authorities have intercepted shipments made up only of pangolin parts. In September 2019, authorities in the city of Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan, made the largest ever seizure of Philippine pangolin scales: 1,154 kilograms (2,545 pounds), for which at least 3,900 pangolins were reportedly killed. .
From 2018 to 2019, local authorities seized 6,894 Philippine pangolins, according to a recent report released by wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC. The figure is alarming, conservationists say, as there are no clear estimates of the number of animals remaining.
But as researchers race against time to save the local pangolin population, studies are limited by the pangolin’s peculiar and cryptic habits. Pangolins are solitary, nocturnal, unvoiced, and semi-arboreal. While these traits weren’t enough to protect them from poachers, they make it very difficult to study species in the wild, Archer says.
“Imagine walking through a forest at night and trying to find something that makes little noise and that could be found alone in a tree,” she says. “It would take a lot of time and effort!”
These cryptic behaviors result in a low probability of detection, which means the chances of spotting one, even if it is nearby, is “very low,” Archer adds.
“General biodiversity surveys therefore rarely record pangolins and therefore specific targeted monitoring methods are necessary,” she says. “However, such methods are still in development for pangolins, so we do not yet have accepted or standardized monitoring methods … in part because they are so difficult to find, so the development of such difficult methods! “
Locals offer clues
This is where the study of Archer and his team comes in. It complements the existing knowledge base by tapping into what is called local ecological knowledge (LEK), a type of data that relies on first-hand observations or interactions of people in a region. where a species can be found.
“LEK is based on the principle that local people can often hold more information and provide important information and knowledge about rare species that use the same environments as them,” says Archer. “It is clear from this result that local people hold a wealth of important knowledge about wildlife in their local areas – these are the real experts.”
But although it has been used in conservation, particularly in community-led conservation efforts, dwellers’ knowledge of their environment remains a vastly underutilized source of data. “Its advantages lie in being able to collect a lot of information over large geographic areas in a relatively short period of time and at low cost – this study took place over 6 months,” says Archer.
“Hopefully studies like this will help in the development of such methods, as new monitoring methods can be tested in areas where we at least know the species exists. We can also use local knowledge to target specific habitats and places where people have recently seen the species. Says Archer.
Eighty-seven percent of respondents to the Palawan survey could identify and provide information on the Philippine pangolin, but said sightings are rare or very rare, even compared to other endangered species. This indicates an urgent need to put in place localized conservation initiatives, according to the study. And the survey notes a high level of general local support for the protection of wildlife, especially the pangolin.
“With high levels of knowledge and a strong willingness to get involved in the conservation efforts reported by the respondents in this study, I believe that local people are really well placed to help guide and develop conservation efforts,” Archer said.
The study forms the basis for ZSL’s conservation action and community engagement in the Municipality of Taytay in northern Palawan, one of the priority conservation areas identified. Archer says a second phase involves using camera traps to monitor the species, which will hopefully help create a community conservation area.
“We hope this will provide a useful set of information that local governments and conservation organizations can use to inform conservation efforts, and against which future research can be compared to monitor trends in species status and threats, ”she said.
Republished with permission from Mongabay.
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