Pangolin hunting and trafficking in the forest–savannah transition area of Cameroon

Abstract

Pangolins have long been hunted for food and for their scales, but information on local hunting strategies in African range countries and the patterns of pangolin trafficking around sourcing areas is limited. Such knowledge is vital to inform monitoring approaches and conservation interventions. We administered questionnaires to 367 people from 20 villages around two national parks in Cameroon to gain insights into local hunting practices, and trading and trafficking patterns. We found that tracking was the preferred method of hunting pangolins. Trapping was also used, and setting traps on fallen logs and near burrows improved the likelihood of catching pangolins. The white-bellied pangolin Phataginus tricuspis was the most traded species, and the giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea was the most sought after. We found no evidence of trade in the black-bellied pangolin Phataginus tetradactyla. Most respondents stated that pangolin prices had increased over the last 5 years, and scarcity of pangolins was the primary reason given for this increase. We identified a pangolin scale trafficking network operating from rural communities to neighbouring cities. Although most respondents recognized that hunting pangolins is illegal, c. 30% indicated that they were engaged in pangolin hunting.

Adapting camera‐trap placement based on animal behavior for rapid detection: A focus on the Endangered, white‐bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis)

“…All data and code used to conduct the analysis reported in this paper are available through the Dryad Digital Repository: DOI https://doi.org/10.5061/dryard.pk0p2ngt2 . (Simo et al, 2023 )…”

“…Local hunters in the Cameroonian forest‐savanna mosaic zone state that white‐bellied pangolin are frequently observed on trees (alive and fallen), often using fallen logs to traverse across the forest floor (Difouo et al, 2020 ). A popular hunting strategy among these hunters includes setting homemade traps on top of fallen trees to increase their chances of catching white‐bellied pangolin (Simo et al, 2023 ). Camera‐traps targeting fallen logs have been shown to produce significant improvements in the detection of several North American focal species, including arboreal species (Kolowski & Forrester, 2017 ).…”