Aditya, Vikram and Pavan Komanduri, Krishna and Subhedar, Rohit and T, Ganesh (2020) Integrating camera traps and community knowledge to assess the status of the Indian pangolin Manis crassicaudata in the Eastern Ghats, India. Oryx, 55 (5). pp. 677-683.

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Abstract

Pangolins are the most trafficked animals globally. Although the Indian pangolin Manis crassicaudata occurs across the Indian subcontinent (excluding parts of the Himalayas and the north-east, where the Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla is present), it is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as a result of heavy poaching for its meat and scales. Several areas have not yet been surveyed for the occurrence of the Indian pangolin, one of which is the , km tropical deciduous forests of the northern Eastern Ghats landscape in Andhra Pradesh. During December –April , we surveyed  km of this landscape for the presence of the Indian pangolin, using camera traps. As an alternative method to document pangolin presence, and to identify factors driving hunting of the species, we also conducted, during the same period, a total of  semi-structured interviews with people in  villages. Interviewees reported the presence of pangolins in a majority of the grid cells that we surveyed with camera traps, particularly in moist deciduous forests distant from villages. However, the camera traps did not detect pangolins in  trap-days. Hunting of pangolins for their meat, which is consumed locally, and for their scales, which are traded, is most likely the reason for the rarity of the species in this landscape. A better understanding of the proximate and ultimate drivers of pangolin hunting is required, to inform proactive conservation management for this increasingly threatened species.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Copyright of this article belongs to the authors. 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International
Uncontrolled Keywords: Andhra Pradesh, community observations, Eastern Ghats, hunting, India, Indian pangolin, Manis crassicaudata, wildlife trade
Subjects: A ATREE Publications > G Journal Papers
Divisions: SM Sehgal Foundation Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation
Depositing User: Ms Suchithra R
Date Deposited: 21 Nov 2025 06:19
Last Modified: 21 Nov 2025 06:19
URI: http://archives.atree.org/id/eprint/1173

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