Chinese Pangolin

The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a solitary, nocturnal mammal covered in overlapping scales made of keratin, the same protein found in human fingernails. It ranges across a broad arc of South and Southeast Asia, from the foothills of the eastern Himalayas through southern China, Taiwan, and into parts of mainland Southeast Asia, occupying subtropical forests, grasslands, and agricultural margins where its primary prey, ants and termites, are abundant. A single pangolin can consume tens of thousands of insects in a night, making it a significant natural regulator of termite colonies and a contributor to soil aeration through its burrowing.

The Chinese pangolin is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with population declines driven overwhelmingly by illegal wildlife trade. It is widely regarded by TRAFFIC and other monitoring bodies as the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world, targeted for its scales, which are used in traditional medicine across parts of Asia, and its meat, which is considered a delicacy in some markets. Habitat loss from deforestation and agricultural expansion compounds the pressure, while the species' naturally slow reproductive rate, typically one offspring per year, limits its ability to recover from population losses.