What protection level does the pangolin hold as a national protected animal, what does it eat, and can it be artificially bred?

Do you still remember the “pangolin and bear paw New Year's Eve dinner” incident during the Spring Festival? On the evening of February 15, New Year's Eve, a Weibo blogger named Rao Moushun posted a message titled “Someone Else's New Year's Eve Dinner,” along with a set of photos of wild animals such as bear paws and pangolins placed in a kitchen awaiting cooking, which sparked widespread attention among netizens. Afterwards, local police confirmed that the images posted by Rao Moushun were downloaded from the internet. Currently, Rao Moushun was administratively detained for five days for fabricating facts and disrupting public order.

The wild pangolin is a very rare animal now, distributed in many provinces of our country. Because of its highly effective medicinal value, it has been hunted and killed. The pangolin is a key protected animal in our country, and hunting and eating it are prohibited. So what protection level does the pangolin hold as a nationalprotected animal? What does it mainly eat? Can it be artificially bred?

The genus Manis is a genus in the family Manidae of the order Pholidota, with a total of 4 species. They are ground-dwelling mammals. The body is elongated, the limbs are thick and short, the tail is flat and long, the back is slightly raised, and the body surface is covered with keratinous scales. The skull is tubular, the snout is pointed and long, there are no teeth, and the tongue is very well developed. The claws are long, especially the claw on the middle toe of the front foot, which is used to dig into ant nests. Pangolins mostly live in subtropical deciduous forests. During the day they often hide in burrows and block them with soil. At night they mostly come out to forage, being nocturnal, and when encountering enemies they curl up into a ball.

According to experts, there are 8 species of pangolin in the world, mainly distributed in China, Malaysia, India and African countries. The pangolins in Guangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, Jiangsu and other places in our country are called “Chinese pangolins.” According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, the scales of pangolin enter the Jueyin and Yangming meridians and have effects such as activating blood and regulating menstruation, promoting lactation and dispersing nodules, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and dispelling wind and dampness, making it a traditional Chinese medicinal material for gynecology; however, currently only the scales of the Chinese pangolin are included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, while other pangolins are not included, and the scales of other pangolins are not suitable for medicinal use.

What protection level does the pangolin hold?

The pangolin is a scale-covered, relatively small animal, and it is also the mammal most severely affected by illegal trade in the world, already on the brink of extinction. This armor-clad species was once distributed across most of Asia and Africa, but today, because of the massive demand for its scales, pangolin populations have sharply declined. In East Asia, pangolin scales are believed to have medicinal effects; eating pangolin meat is also regarded as a symbol of status.

The pangolin is a national second-class protected animal in China, and hunting and eating it are prohibited. Illegal hunting, smuggling or selling can result in a prison sentence of more than 5 years, and in serious cases the maximum penalty can be life imprisonment. Pangolins are protected by law throughout Asia, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora also banned all international trade in pangolins in 2002. However, judging from the current distribution status of pangolins in our country, in order to call on people to better protect pangolins, pangolins should be upgraded to a first-class protected animal.

What are pangolin scales used for?

Actually, the reason many people become interested in pangolins is mainly that they are attracted by the effects and medicinal value of pangolins, and pangolin scales are also a traditional Chinese medicinal material with rich medicinal value.

Pangolin scales are a traditional Chinese medicinal material, also known as Jia Pian, Chuan Jia, Chuan Jia Pian, and Lin Jia Pian. After being dried and processed, pangolin scales have a controlling effect on various diseases. Generally speaking, pangolin scales are used to scrape the body and can dispel rheumatic symptoms in the body, but pangolin scales can also be taken internally. After being ground into powder and processed, they can activate blood and unblock collaterals, reduce swelling and discharge pus, and promote milk secretion.

Activating blood and dispersing nodules, reducing swelling and relieving pain

For the early stage of carbuncle swelling with redness, swelling, heat and pain, traumatic injuries, joint swelling, hypochondriac pain, hemiplegia, as well as various lymph node swellings, tumor masses and various cancers, pangolin can be used for treatment.

Hemostatic function

Grind the processed pangolin, dry the bleeding area when using it, and quickly sprinkle the pangolin powder evenly on the bleeding site. It can produce a rapid hemostatic effect and can also be used for nosebleeds and so on.

Promoting menstruation and lactation

Pangolin scales can promote milk secretion and are very effective for insufficient milk secretion in postpartum women and failure to produce milk caused by later environmental factors. Generally, about ten grams can be added when stewing pig trotters. It can also treat breast swelling in women, lobular hyperplasia, and swelling caused by blocked milk ducts during lactation.

Regulating menstruation

Pangolin scales also have the effect of activating blood and regulating menstruation, and are used to treat reduced menstruation, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, dark menstrual blood and so on in women.

Dispelling wind and dampness

Pangolin scales have a very good therapeutic effect on pain in the waist, legs and joints, rheumatic arthralgia, difficulty in bending and stretching, stroke paralysis, scabies, and wind leprosy caused by wind-cold-dampness pathogens obstructing the meridians and qi and blood stagnation.

Living habits of pangolins

1. Diet: The main food of pangolins is termites. In addition, they also eat ants and their larvae, bees, wasps and other insect larvae, etc. Their food intake is very large. The stomach of an adult pangolin can hold up to 500 grams of termites. According to scientists' observations, in 250 mu of forest land, as long as there is one adult pangolin, termites will not cause harm to the forest. This shows that pangolins play a great role in protecting forests, embankments, maintaining ecological balance, and human health.

2. Reproduction: The pangolin is a viviparous animal. Its estrus and mating period is mainly from April to May. During the estrus period, males and females live together, and after mating they separate. The birthing period is from December to January of the following year. The gestation period is about 5-6 months. Male pangolins remain in estrus for a longer time, and male estrus continues without showing periodicity. Females have 2-5 estrous cycles, with an estrous cycle of 12-25 days. After conception, females no longer go into estrus. During the estrus period, males search everywhere for females. During the estrus and mating period, males and females live together, and after mating they separate. There is one litter per year. Under artificial breeding conditions, 3 litters can be produced in 2 years.

3. Burrow building

① Summer burrow: The one lived in during summer is called a summer burrow. It is built on a ventilated and cool hillside at a relatively high elevation to prevent rainwater from flowing in. The tunnel inside the burrow is relatively short, about 30 cm or so, and the internal structure is relatively simple.

② Winter burrow: The one lived in during winter is called a winter burrow. It is built in a place sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, at a relatively low elevation, with a vertical height of more than 4 m from the ground. The internal structure of the burrow is relatively complex, with winding tunnels shaped like a gourd. At intervals there is also an earthen wall piled up with soil, and the length can reach more than 10 m. It also passes through two or three termite nests, becoming its winter “granary.” At the end of the burrow there is a relatively spacious recess, lined with fine soft weeds for warmth, which is its “bedroom” for overwintering and also used as a “nursery.”

Can pangolins be artificially bred?

Today, the number of pangolins is decreasing, and pangolins reproduce very slowly, with only one litter per year. They are national second-class protected animals, and their survival is severely threatened. In order to prevent their extinction, our country has explicitly banned the hunting and killing of pangolins. To reverse this situation, pangolins can be artificially bred, but they cannot be artificially reproduced. The pangolins in farms now are all small pangolins captured in the wild.

Exploring the path of artificial breeding

On one hand there is the demand for medicinal and food use, and on the other hand there is the brink of extinction; on one hand there are various wildlife protection organizations campaigning and calling for action, and on the other hand there are repeated hunting and smuggling. In fact, this predicament is not limited to just one species, the pangolin. Recently, news of “live wild foraging broadcasts” has still been continuously exposed online. Leatherback turtles, hawksbill turtles, tigers, sika deer and other national first-class and second-class protected animals all face similar situations because of their medicinal value. So, in order to correctly handle the relationship between resource protection and sustainable use, and promote the coordinated development of wildlife protection and the traditional Chinese medicine cause, is there a better alternative? Can pangolins be artificially bred?

According to Hu Chunmei, secretary-general of the Endangered Species Fund of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation and head of the pangolin protection project, as of now, the breeding and reproduction of pangolins is still extremely unsuccessful. Over the past 150 years, more than 100 zoos or breeding farms worldwide have made attempts, but the vast majority of pangolins die within 6 months, and very few can live more than two years. Wu Shibao, professor at the School of Life Sciences of South China Normal University and a member of the Pangolin Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, pointed out that artificial breeding of pangolins is extremely difficult, mainly because pangolins have special habits, are relatively primitive, depend greatly on natural ecosystems, and are very difficult to provide with environmental enrichment in artificial enclosures. They eat only ants and termites, and artificial food is difficult to provide; their body temperature regulation ability is poor, with body temperature between 31°C and 35°C, far lower than the body temperature of other mammals above 37°C; they lack innate immune genes and often die from disease due to poor management under artificial captive conditions.

At present, many places in our country have the situation of “artificial breeding of pangolins.” But Wu Shibao said that among them there are not a few cases of indiscriminate hunting and killing under the guise of breeding. People do not know enough about pangolin habits, lack corresponding theoretical guidance, and domestication methods are difficult to make scientific and reasonable. Wu Shibao introduced that relatively mature pangolin breeding technology should meet the level of at least 80% for the three indicators of domestication success rate, female pregnancy rate, and fetal survival rate, and the lifespan under artificial breeding should be no less than 10 years. Although his team has made relatively great progress in the artificial breeding of pangolins, Wu Shibao emphasized, “The artificial breeding technology for pangolins is still very immature and is still in the research stage, and it is not possible for large-scale commercial application.”

In order to correctly handle the relationship between resource protection and sustainable use, and promote the coordinated development of wildlife protection and the traditional Chinese medicine cause, five ministries and commissions including the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Forestry Administration jointly issued a document in 2007, requiring the cessation of wild hunting activities, carrying out in situ habitat protection, establishing pangolin nature reserves, and promoting the recovery and growth of wild resources; at the same time, continuing to continuously explore the path of artificial breeding of pangolins, establishing an incentive mechanism of “whoever invests benefits,” guiding enterprises to participate in wild resource recovery and artificial breeding activities; in addition, in the research on medicinal substitutes for pangolins and other endangered species, it is even more necessary to plan ahead.

It can be said that pangolins are now on the brink of extinction, and we humans are inseparable from it. Every one of us should do our utmost to protect them. The third Saturday of February each year is World Pangolin Day. The purpose of this commemorative day initiated by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is to make us aware of the plight of pangolins and at the same time take measures to stop the hunting and killing of pangolins worldwide.