Ecological factors affecting the feeding behaviour of pangolins (Manis temminckii)

Abstract

The diet and foraging behaviour of 15 radio-tagged pangolins were studied in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin for 14 months, together with the community composition and occurrence of epigaeic ants and termites. Fifty-®ve ant and termite species of 25 genera were trapped in pitfalls of which Pheidole sp. 2 was the most common (27% occurrence). Five termite and 15 ant species were preyed on by pangolins. Six of these species constituted 97% of the diet while ants formed 96% of the diet. Anoplolepis custodiens constituted the major component of the pangolins' diet (77% occurrence) while forming only 5% of the trapped ants. Above-ground ant and termite activity was higher during summer than during winter (an 11-fold difference for A. custodiens), and the above-ground activity was also higher during the day than at night. Pangolins fed for 16% of their foraging time. However, 99% of the observed feeding bouts (mean duration 40 s) were on subterranean prey. The mean dig depth was 3.8 cm. Prey from deeper digs were fed upon for longer periods. A model taking into account various ant characteristics suggests that ant abundance and ant size are the two most important factors determining the number of feeding bouts that pangolins undertake on a particular ant species. Temperature effects on ant activity and their nest characteristics may exclude pangolins from parts of southern Africa.

Distribution, abundance and diet of the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)

“…Burrows of the species were found in all transects where these animals were present. The species, which is specialized in digging, has strong forelimbs with hard claws that are modified for digging burrows as shown by Swart et al (1999). The burrows of the species were confirmed based on their characteristic shape (almost rounded), depth, and presence of prey remains (ants and termites) and faecal droppings.…”

“…In the current study, the ant prey species consumed by Indian pangolin include two "black ant" species -namely Camponotus confucii and Camponotus compressus and one termite species -namely Odontotermis obesus. Richer et al (1997) and Swart et al (1999) had reported Anoplolepis custodiens ants in the diet of the African pangolin (Manis temminckii).…”

Habitat Selection by Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Winter in Dawuling Natural Reserve

“…However, there are few studies on the ecology of 7 species of pangolin, which were reported only by Sweeney (1956), Pages (1975, Liu andXu (1981), Shi (1985), Jiang (1988), Coulson(1989), Jacobsen et al (1991, Richer et al (1997), Heath and Coulson (1997a, 1997b and Swart et al (1999), and much emphasis had been placed on food composition, foraging behavior, home range and activity habit about Cape pangolin (Manis temminckii), Chinese pangolin {Manis pentadactyla) and tree pangolin (Manis tricuspid). But few were detailed studies, this may be due to the elusive and nocturnal behavior of pangolins, and the habit resting inside their burrows during period of daytime or because they occur in relatively low densities compared with other mammals, so it is very difficult to find and observe them (Heath and Coulson 1997a ;Richer et al 1997 ;Swart et al 1999 ;Wu et al 2002). Thus it is very necessary to extensively carry out studies on field ecology of various species of pangolin in order to protect these rare species.…”

Ecosystem engineers and geomorphological signatures in landscapes

“…An engineer species can, however, also act as an agent of decay opposing formation. For example, pangolins destroy ant and termite mounds (e.g., Swart et al, 1999), humans sometimes destroy beaver dams (Butler and Malanson, 2005), and some earthworm species destroy soil aggregates made by other earthworm species (Rossi, 2003). The approach for estimating F/D and assessing signature change can nevertheless still be used.…”