Pangolins are the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world. A solitary, insect-eating animal about the size of a large domestic cat*, pangolins are famous for their highly prized keratin scales -- a staple of traditional Chinese medicine.

All eight existing pangolin species are threatened with extinction and on the IUCN's Red List, with three Asian species categorised as critically endangered.

As Asian pangolins have declined dramatically, Nigeria has seen a boom in the export of pangolin scales to Asia. While hunting pangolins is illegal in Nigeria the West African country is now the world's largest hub for the criminal trade in pangolin products.

However, a new study published in the journalNature Ecology & Evolution suggests that some 98% of Nigerian pangolins are caught for meat first and foremost, with around two-thirds of scales from these animals simply thrown away.

A research team led by Cambridge collected data from over eight hundred hunters and traders in thirty-three locations across Nigeria's Cross River Forest region, primarily between 2020 and 2023, during which time the conservationists estimate that around 21,000 pangolins were killed annually in the area.

Almost all pangolins were captured "opportunistically" or during general hunting trips (97%) rather than sought out, and caught primarily for meat (98%). Around 71% of pangolins were consumed by hunters themselves, with 27% traded locally as food.

Perhaps surprisingly, given their potential overseas value, around 70% of the scales were discarded, while less than 30% were sold on. However, researchers calculated that, per animal, pangolin meat fetched 3-4 times the price of scales at local Nigerian markets.

"Thousands of kilos of pangolin scales are seized at Nigeria's ports, creating the impression that the international demand for scales is behind pangolin exploitation in West Africa," said study lead author and Gates Cambridge Scholar Dr Charles Emogor, who conducted the research for his PhD at the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology.

"When we spoke to hunters and traders on the ground around the Cross River forest, the largest stronghold for Nigeria's pangolins, it was obvious that meat was the motivation for almost all of the pangolin killings."

"We found that dedicated pangolin hunts are virtually non-existent. Most pangolins are killed by hunters out for any type of game," said Emogor, now a Schmidt Science Fellow split between Cambridge, UK, and Harvard, US.

"Around a third of pangolins are caught opportunistically, often while people are working in the fields. Pangolins curl into a ball when threatened, which sadly makes them easy to catch." Among frequent hunters, by far the most common method of catching pangolins was given as simply picking them up by hand.

While Emogor says the demands of traditional medicine markets are exacerbating the decline of African pangolins -- his previous research showed that just shipments intercepted by Nigerian authorities between 2010 and 2021 amounted to 190,407 kilos of pangolin scales taken from around 800,000 dead creatures -- pangolins have been exploited in West Africa long before being trafficked to Asia.

The meat is a delicacy in parts of Nigeria, often procured for pregnant women in the belief it helps produce strong babies. Emogor and colleagues surveyed hunters and Cross River locals on "palatability": asking them to rank the tastiness of almost a hundred different animals eaten in the region, from domestic beef and chicken to catfish, monkeys and antelope.

The three major African pangolin species were rated as the most palatable of all available meats, with average scores of almost nine out of ten, and the giant pangolin considered the topmost appetising meat in the region.

"Pangolins face a lethal combination of threats," said Emogor. "Pangolins are easy to hunt, breed slowly, taste good to humans, and are falsely believed to have curative properties in traditional medicines. In addition, their forest habitat is being destroyed."

Emogor's research led him to set up Pangolino in 2021, a global network of volunteers, scientists and pangolin enthusiasts committed to saving the endangered animal. He points out that the cost of policy interventions to tackle meat-driven pangolin trading might be cheaper than those for an international scales market.

These should include anti-poaching patrols as well as community programmes focused on food security. Through Pangolino, Emogor is piloting interventions in four Southeast Nigerian communities by helping create by-laws that prohibit pangolin killing, with financial rewards for compliance.

"Clearly in designing any intervention we need good information on what's motivating the hunters," said Prof Andrew Balmford, co-author from Cambridge's Department of Zoology. "That's why studies such as this are vital for effective conservation of endangered species."

While the latest study focused on Nigeria, researchers say their pangolin hunting and consumption data echo that from countries such as Cameroon and Gabon -- suggesting these patterns may be Africa-wide.

Raised on the edge of the Cross River National Park, home to Nigeria's endangered white-bellied and black-bellied pangolins, Emogor grew up surrounded by wildlife. Yet during childhood he only ever saw dead pangolins, and didn't encounter a living animal until his mid-twenties.

"If we lose the pangolin, we lose 80 million years of evolution," said Emogor. "Pangolins are the only mammals with scales, and their ancestors existed when dinosaurs still roamed the planet," added Emogor.

The latest study was conducted by an international team of researchers from the University of Cambridge, Wildlife Conservation Society, Pangolin Protection Network, University of Washington, CIFOR, CARE International, as well as the UK universities of Oxford, Exeter and Kent.

Notes:

*While this is a rough size for some African species, such as the White-bellied pangolin, the Giant Pangolin can grow up to 30kg in weight.

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