Pangolins have been highly endangered since 2000, what are the factors behind this?

With the development of society, many animals are on the verge of extinction. Pangolins are also a sign of good or bad environmental conditions, the current natural environment greenhouse gas continues to increase, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gas concentrations are still at a high level, so the pangolin is on the verge of extinction, showing that the environment continues to deteriorate.

Because pangolins have medicinal value and are very high, they are targeted by criminals. Moreover, pangolins are very rare, and they are rare and expensive, so they are naturally targeted.

First, the weather. Second, the environment. Third, climate. Fourth, there is a lack of water resources. Fifth, human activities. These are key factors, especially human activities.

Pangolins are found in many provinces and cities across the country. It used to be a very common wild animal, but in the last decade or so, there has been a lot of publicity that pangolin scales can be used in medicine and that the meat is of good quality, which has led to serious indiscriminate hunting. Pangolins are also on the verge of extinction.

On June 8, 2019, the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Association (CCG) announced the shocking news that the Chinese pangolin had become "functionally extinct" in Chinese mainland. Functional extinction is a precursor to the extinction of a species, and when a species stops reproducing, it is only a matter of time before it eventually goes extinct.

Functionally extinct species are therefore called "zombie species", and the last remaining individuals are called "living dead", i.e., unable to produce offspring and inevitably leading to extinction of the population, even if it is unable to sustain itself in life.

According to the field research in the traditional distribution areas of Chinese pangolins in Guangxi, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, Anhui and Guangdong, combined with the infrared camera field records and visits of Pangolin Conservation Project partners and volunteers of the Green Society, only 11 Chinese pangolins have been effectively recorded and verified in the past three years, and the existence of wild populations of Chinese pangolins has not been monitored in Chinese mainland for a long time.

Except for 10,000-20,000 Chinese pangolins in Taiwan, China, no or only sporadic individuals have been seen in other parts of China. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Chinese pangolin population is extremely scarce in mainland China and is functionally extinct.

There are many reasons why pangolins are on the verge of extinction, but some people catch pangolins for sale and destroy their habitat.

The natural reason is that the pangolin's food is reduced and the pangolin is unable to adapt to the new living environment.

Introduction to pangolinsPangolin Jingkong is a mammal of the order Lepidaceae, the pangolin family, and its body surface will have many scales, and the color of these scales will darken as the pangolin grows.

Pangolins are mainly found in the wooded and humid areas of hills, foothills, and plains, and prefer hot places, and are found in Bhutan, China, India, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Pangolins are the only remaining mammals of the order Lepidium, which is a national first-class protected wild animal and is prohibited from being hunted and eaten. Pangolins feed mainly on termites, but also eat ants and their larvae, bees, wasps and other insect larvae.

The stomach of an adult pangolin can hold up to 500 grams of termites. According to scientists' observations, in 250 acres of woodland, as long as there is an adult pangolin, termites will not cause harm to the forest, which shows that pangolins play a great role in protecting forests, dams, maintaining ecological balance, human health, etc.

Movable pangolins mostly burrow in the grass in the foothills or in the hills and shrubs in the more humid places. Awake at night and curled up into balls when encountered, the pangolin's hard shell is made up of organic skeletal structures called keratin, which make up about 20% of the pangolin's total weight.

When large carnivores such as lions try to bite down on a clumped pangolin, the pangolin will also use its muscles to cut the scales and cut through the mouth of the enemy, and the animal that tries to eat the pangolin will be severely injured. The tongue is slender, retractable, and has sticky saliva, and when foraging, it looks for antholes with a keen sense of smell, digs through antholes with strong forelimb claws, and licks and eats with its long tongue.

Pangolins are the only remaining squamodic mammals, and in China, pangolins are national first-class protected wild animals, and they are forbidden to be killed and eaten.

The scales of pangolins can be used in traditional Chinese medicine, and because the Chinese people are delicious, they have been hunted in large quantities, and their habitats have been destroyed, so they have become endangered animals. Pangolins' main food is termites, and a single pangolin can protect 250 acres of forest from termites.

In order to further strengthen the protection of pangolins, China has upgraded all species of pangolins from national second-class protected wild animals to first-class wild animals, which indicates that the Chinese pangolin, which is currently distributed naturally in China, as well as the Malayan pangolin and the Indian pangolin that have been distributed in China, will be strictly protected.

Pangolins are mammals of the order Lepidaceae, the family Pangolins, and are the only remaining squamosauric mammals in the world. Due to the influence of human factors, the number of wild pangolins has declined dramatically. In 2020, it was included in the list of national first-class protected animals in China.

It is illegal to hunt and trade wild pangolins in China.

Introduction to pangolins

Pangolins, also known as dace, have a long and narrow body with dark, hard scales on their head and body surface, and the scales are black-brown. Pangolins are good at digging in the soil. When digging a hole, its front and hind limbs have a reasonable division of labor, the forelimbs dig holes, the hind limbs dig the soil, the abdomen is soft, the limbs are thick and short, the head is conical, the eyes are small, and the snout is pointed.

The tongue is long, toothless, with 5 toes on the feet, and has strong claws. The ears are underdeveloped, the vision is basically degenerated, and the sense of smell is sensitive.

Pangolins tend to burrow in the grass in the foothills or in the hills and shrubs. He likes heat, can climb trees, and rises at night. Pangolins feed mainly on termites, but also eat ant larvae, bees, wasps, etc.

When it is frightened, it will roll into a ball to protect itself.