For the first time this century, a giant pangolin showed it still exists in Senegal by walking past a trail webcam in Niokolo-Koba National forest (NKNP). The last time wildlife authorities caught this incredibly unusual and endangered African animal on cam was in 1999.
A newly released term paper by Mouhamadou Mody Ndiaye and other researchers in the African Journal of Ecology details the find. “Following a big camera-trap study carried out in NKNP in 2023, we provide photographic evidence that huge pangolins are still present in the park,” scientists write in the abstract.
The scientists state the scientific community lacks detailed understanding about pangolin distribution in West Africa. Due to the fact that they do not have evidence these animals still exist in particular locations of their historic range on the African continent, researchers suspect/fear numerous local extinctions.
However, huge pangolins aren’t extinct in Senegal, thanks to the photographic proof caught on camera in Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park back in March 2023 (as reported by NewScientist). “Such rediscoveries not only highlight the importance of organized biodiversity inventories, but likewise the vital value of West Africa’s big secured areas,” the researchers state.
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The Plight of the Pangolins
Giant ground pangolins are the biggest pangolin types, and the IUCN notes them as endangered. Human beings hunt pangolins for their meat and their scales, which locals in Africa usage in standard medication. Pangolins are also unlawfully trafficked to and within Asia for usage in traditional medication. Environment loss even more threatens all eight pangolin types throughout Africa and Asia. (4 pangolin types live in Africa and four live in Asia.)
Pangolins are unique scaled mammals that can roll up into a ball to defend themselves versus predators. These secretive animals consume insects like ants and termites. They use their long front claws to dig for food and their long tongues to slurp up creepy-crawlies. Most species are nocturnal.
Check out some rare video footage of wild giant pangolins here:
For the first time this century, scientists saw an unusual giant pangolin in Senegal thanks to a path camera.