GS TIMES STAFF
To enforce the appropriate national and international laws and to track the decline of the pangolin species, researchers of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have developed tools to tell apart the scales of Indian pangolin and Chinese pangolin .
- Based on the size, shape, weight and ridge counts on the scales, the research team was able to categorise the two species.
About Pangolins in India
- Pangolins are ant-eaters nocturnal creatures which spend most of their life as solitary animals (except during mating).
- Pangolins-world’s most trafficked mammal, are listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- The species is also listed under the Appendix I of the International Convention of Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which prohibits international commercial trade.
- In the IUCN Red List, Indian pangolins (Manis crassicaudata) are endangered and the Chinese pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) are critically endangered.
- India is home to two species – Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata).
- Chinese pangolin is distributed mostly in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, the northeastern part of India is also its home.
- Indian Pangolin is widely distributed throughout the country except the Himalayan region.
(References: The Hindu and HT)
