Pangolins: These animal kingdom 'oddballs' provide important conservation lesson
Pangolins are unique...and delicious. Which is a problem.
While I did know a little about the animals prior to the Global Explorers Summit in Ottawa, I’d never really thought about how they tasted or that their numbers are in serious decline.
Watching a talk at the Summit by Dr. Charles Emorgo, a zoologist and conservationist based in London, changed that and gave me a new appreciation for involving locals in those efforts.
Charles grew up in Nigeria, where large populations of pangolins live, and grew to love the weird, scaly anteaters. He now works to increase knowledge and appreciation of pangolins across Africa, especially since pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world.
Dr. Charles Emorgo pictured with a pangolin. (Credit: Alex Moore/provided)
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A bit of background: pangolins are mammals that look like a cross between an armadillo and a Stegosaurus. As one of the only mammals with scales, you’d be excused for not wanting to pet them, but those scales are what make them so attractive to some groups of people.
The scales themselves are made from keratin and are sought after as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. However, given that they’re made from keratin, the same protein in hair and fingernails, the scales have exactly zero medicinal benefit. In fact, you could save yourself some cash and chew your fingernails instead.
(Credit: Alex Moore/provided)
However, thanks to research Charles has conducted, the demand for scales in Asian countries isn’t the main problem; it’s actually the local demand for meat.
“What I found in my research is that pangolin exploitation in Africa, specifically in Nigeria but can be extrapolated to other countries, is driven more by demand for food by the hunters themselves than it is driven by demand from China for traditional medicine. It doesn’t mean that exploitation by China is no longer a problem; it just means that the threat to pangolins is quite local, and what we see of scales going to China is a byproduct of pangolins being hunted for food.”
His approach to pangolin conservation embodies some of the more modern approaches of environmentalism; education creates understanding, and understanding begets care.
(Credit: Alex Moore/provided)
“I think the classic thing is that people don’t conserve something they don’t know or care about, and to care about something, you need to know about it. Pangolins obviously have the cool factor, so on one hand, pangolin conservationists are in luck; you don’t have to turn the tide too much.” He laughs. “Look at these animals; they’re really cute. Will you please try to save them?”
“The problem we run into is that that engages the general public, but not necessarily those that can do something directly. We need to engage people on the ground, so to do that, my organization, the Pangolin Protection Network, is working with locals. So, we’re working with students, with adults, and we’re distributing material such as notebooks, t-shirts to raise awareness and say, “Hey, we appreciate that pangolins make up a huge part of your culture, but just rethink your relationship with these animals because they’re not going to be here forever.'”
One thing Charles stresses is the involvement of the people of the area and building trust with the community as a basis for conservation efforts.
“I think because I’m local, that allowed me to build trust quickly. I was able to say, ‘Hey, I grew up in this village over there.’ And I think that’s what’s important, and that’s what is usually missing in conservation projects: that local buy-in. You can involve them in a more equal way rather than trying to impose on them.”
“Ultimately, we need them to be on the same side as us to make change, to get things done. Most times they are the most critical aspect in a project that will promote or diminish species preservation. I think it’s really important to think about how you build trust. For me, I didn’t come in lecturing about pangolins or giving hunters GPS devices like I do now. Instead, I asked about where in the forest I might find pangolins, what I might look for, and coming in with respect. After all, they were the custodians of the forest before I got there.”
Dr. Charles Emogor earned his PhD in Zoology from the University of Cambridge on the dynamics of threats to pangolin. (Credit: Alex Moore/provided)
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I asked Charles what lessons we Canadians might learn from his project, and he once again emphasized the criticality of involving those that are directly impacted by conservation efforts: “I just think that involving locals is important, and a practical way of changing things is to involve them when decisions are made. Get people from where these projects are going to be implemented to be a part of the table, and ideally, they’re representing the community because then you have buy-in when the project goes out.”
The projects that Charles is implementing using this approach are having some success, as he’s noted increasing awareness of pangolin as a disappearing resource to the locals. However, the problem remains that so little is known about the ecology of the animal that finding a sustainable hunting number is difficult at best right now.
The silver lining is Charles and his drive to understand more about pangolins is ensuring that our understanding and appreciation of these odd creatures is increasing every day.