Occupancy, habitat suitability and habitat preference of endangered indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in Potohar Plateau and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

Factors influencing the habitat choice of pangolins (Manisspp.) in low land of Nepal

“…The pangolins are highly elusive and nocturnal animals, notably difficult to observe in the wild (Kaspal, 2009). Therefore, its presence in the study area was inferred based on indirect signs such as burrows, footprints, tracks, and fecal matter (Akrim et al, 2017;Mahmood et al, 2017;Karawita et al, 2018;Waseem et al, 2020). Burrows were classified as "old" or "new" following Suwal (2011).…”

Habitat preference of the Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata inhabiting Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad, Pakistan

“…Similarly, LSD analysis further revealed that field signs of the pangolin recorded at natural wild area habitat type significantly differed from agricultural land and human vicinity area habitat types (p <0.001). Waseem et al (2020) investigated the habitat suitability of the pangolin in Potohar Plateau and Azad Jammu & Kashmir areas. We recorded evidence of pangolin occurrence in three different types of habitats in study area; viz., natural forests, agricultural land, and the grassland.…”

Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central Cameroon

“…For all pangolin species, occurrence is considered to be determined mainly by food availability (presence of ants and termites), appropriate temperature, and presence of a permanent water source (Chao et al, 2020). In addition, other factors such as distance to human settlement and distance to roads might also be important predictors of pangolin occurrence (Akrim et al, 2017;Bruce et al, 2018;Waseem et al, 2020). For Indian (Manis crassicaudata) and Chinese (Manis pentadactyla) pangolins for example, elevation, average temperature, distance to human settlements, land cover class, slope, aspect, and precipitation have all been shown to be determinant factors of their distribution (Dorji et al, 2020;Sharma et al, 2014;Thomas et al, 2004).…”

“…For Indian (Manis crassicaudata) and Chinese (Manis pentadactyla) pangolins for example, elevation, average temperature, distance to human settlements, land cover class, slope, aspect, and precipitation have all been shown to be determinant factors of their distribution (Dorji et al, 2020;Sharma et al, 2014;Thomas et al, 2004). Indian and Chinese pangolins reportedly prefer digging their burrows in areas with moderate canopy cover and slope, not far from human settlements and watercourses, at a moderate elevation between 500 and 1750 m above sea level (Karawita et al, 2018;Suwal et al, 2020;Waseem et al, 2020). Dorji et al (2020) also found that Chinese pangolins preferred digging their burrows on clay and sandy loam soils as they form soft layers that are easy to dig in, thus highlighting the importance of soil for pangolins as it permits them to find food, shelter, and also regulate their body temperature by retreating into burrows (Redford, 1987;Sun et al, 2021).…”

“…-the distribution of GP is affected by elevation, vegetation types and distances to human settlements and nearest watercourse (Hoffmann et al, 2020;Waseem et al, 2020), as well as soil type given that GP is a burrowing species, and -suitable habitat for GP burrowing is patchily distributed across habitat types, with GPs showing a preference for densely forested areas.…”