1. Tariq Mahmood, * Nausheen Irshad, Riaz Hussain,
Muhammad Rais, IftikharHussain, Maqsood Anwar
and Muhammad Sajid Nadeem
DISTRIBUTION, POPULATION
AND FOOD HABITS OF INDIAN
PANGOLIN (Manis crassicaudata)
IN DISTRICT CHAKWAL,
PAKISTAN
4. Basic Information
Pholidota means"the scaled animal"
(Atkin,2004).
“Pangolin" is derived from the Malay word
pengguling which means, "something that rolls
up".
Local name "Salla”
6. Species and Distribution
Species Common name Biogeography Status
Manis culionensis Palawan Pangolin Asia near threatened
Manis crassicaudata Indian pangolin Asia near threatened
Manis pentadactyla Chinese pangolin Asia endangered
Manis javanica Malayan pangolin Asia endangered
Manis tetradactyla Long-tailed or
black-bellied
pangolin
Africa
Manis gigantea Giant ground
pangolin
Africa near Threatened
Manis temminckii or Temminck's
ground pangolin
Africa
Manis tricuspis Tree or African
white-bellied
pangolin
Africa near Threatened
7. Distribution in Pakistan
The only pangolin species present in Pakistan is
Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata).
Punjab (Sialkot, Jhelum ,Gujrat, Attock, Wah)
Khyber Pakhtoonkha (Kohat,Mardan, Peshawar)
Sindh (Dadu and Lerkana)
Baluchistan (Mekran, Lasbela)
(Roberts, 1997)
9. Population Status and
Major Threats
“Near threatened” (IUCN, 2006). Appendix II of
the CITES (Inskipp & Gillett 2005) vulnerable to
over-exploitation
can be easily hunted
used for trade
have a very slow reproduction rate and
do not easily breed in captivity
(Lim and Ng, 2007)
10. Objectives
To determine distribution of the Indian pangolin in
Chakwal district.
To estimate the size of its population.
Investigation of the food habits of the species.
13. Distribution of Indian pangolin
extensive surveys
burrows, fecal samples
ants and termites colonies
traditional knowledge
distribution map of the species
14. Population Estimation
Population estimation
Direct method Indirect method
Visual observation/capture
Of animal
Borrow count Foot tract analysis
Feeding
Living
Active
Inactive
D = n/A (D=density/km², n= no. of individuals, A=area surveyed)
15. Investigation of the diet composition
of Indian pangolin
a) Fecal pellet analysis
b) Field obervations of the ants and termites
colonies
17. Surveillance surveys
Starting
Transect
Geographic
Coordinates
Ending
Transects
Geographic
Coordinates
Distance
Covered
(km)
Results
Chakwal-More
(Mandra)
N 33º 19’ 56.83”
E 73º 14’ 31.41”
Elevation 1569ft
Chakwal N32º 03’ 57.88”
E 72º 58’06.88”
Elevation1784ft
60 +
Tehsil Chock
Chakwal city
N 32º 55’ 26.07”
E 72º 50’ 20.74”
Elevation 1651ft
Talagang Road
m2
N 32º 55’20.06”
E 72º 40’ 59.26
Eevation1702ft
18 +
Talagang Road N 32º 55’ 23.01”
E 72º 45’ 15.14”
Elevation 1697ft
Kallar Kahar
Road
N 32º 50’42.82”
E 72º 44’54.37”
Elevation1881ft
06 +
Murred N 35º 53’ 47.77”
E 072º 45’ 08.8”
Elevation 1543ft
Bhaun N32º 53’ 33.7”
E 072º 45’00.6”
Elevation1605ft
15 +
Continue
Table 1: Details of the surveillance surveys (road surveys) conducted on motor vehicle
to determine the distribution of Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in Chakwal
district during the current study period from March 2010 to April 2011
18. Surveillance surveys
Chakwal city N 32º 55’ 99.1“
E 072º 53’ 49.7“
Eevation 1524ft
Jubair pur N32º 55’ 50.5”
E 072º 54’12.7”
Elevation1500ft
7 +
Chakwal city N 32º 54’ 52.65”
E 72º 52’ 36.57”
Elevation 1640 ft
Choa saidan
shah
N 32º 43’38.28”
E 72º 59’20.26”
Elevation1628ft
30 +
Choa Chowk N32º 53’ 56.04“
E 72º 52’ 43.26“
Elevation 1733ft
Sehgal abad N 32º 53’12.31“
E 72º 57’15.22“
20 +
Chakwal city N 32º 55’ 09.37“
E 72º 51’ 23.51“
Elevation 1650 ft
Kallar Kahar N 32º 46’ 42.62”
E 72º 42’ 14.74”
Elevation2224ft
25 +
Bhaun Chowk N 32º 53’ 08.47”
E 72º 48’ 47.93”
Elevation 1766 ft
Khokar Zair dam N32º 48’ 17.44”
E 72º 51’ 32.86”
Elevation1897ft
10 +
Choa Saidan
Shah
N 32º 42’ 55.37”
E 72º 58’ 39.01”
Elevation 2203ft
Basharat hills N 32º 45’05.29”
E 72º 04’44.31”
10 +
20. Population Estimation
Study site No of active
living
burrows
Area of
study site
(km²)
Density/km²
Direct
sightings
Reported
sightings
Feacal
samples
count
Chumbi
Surla
2 2 1 _ 5-7 3
Jubair Pur 2 2 1 1 4-5 2
Murreed 3 2 1.5 2 5-7 4
Bohn 5 6 0.66 0 3-4 0
Chokora 2 2 1 1 3-4 0
Khokar Zair 2 2 1 _ 1-2 0
Dohk Surla 3 6 0.5 1 3-4 0
Total 19 22 6.66 6 24-33 9
Mean 2.71 3.142 0.30
Table 2: Population Estimation of Indian pangolin By Burrows Counts in District Chakwal
21. Population density
1 1
1.5
0.66
1 1
0.5
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
Density
Jabairpur Chumbi
Surla
Mureed
village
Bhaun Chakora Khokhar
Zer
Dhoke
Surla
Study Sites
Figure 3. Population density (per kilometer square) of Indian pangolin (Manis
crassicaudata) at seven selected study sites in district Chakwal
22. Burrows counts
Study Sites Total Burrows Feeding Burrows Living Burrows
Active Inactive
Chumbi Surla 26 23 2 1
Jubair Pur 9 6 2 1
Murreed 20 17 3 0
Bohn 22 19 4 1
Chokora 20 18 2 0
Khokar Zair 25 20 2 3
Dhok Surla 32 29 3 0
Total 154 132 18 6
Mean 22 18.8 2.5 0.8
Table 3. Numbers of burrows of Indian pangolin in different selected sites of the
study area.
23. Burrows Characteristics
Study Area Feeding Burrows ( inch) Living (Burrows (inch)
Length Width Depth Length Width Depth
Chumbi Surla 10.1 7.8 14.4 8 10.5 20
Jubair Pur 8.5 8 12 8.5 8.5 24
Murreed 8.5 10 8 8 10 35
Bohn 6.8 8 12 10 12.5 32
Chokora 8 10 8 8.8 12 28
Khokar Zair 10 12 12.5 8 12 22
Dhok Surla 10.5 10.5 14.5 7 10 28
Total 62.4 66.3 81.4 58.3 75.5 169
Mean ± SD 8.91 ±1.33 9.47 ±1.58 11.6 ±2.68 8.32 ±0.92 10.7 ±1.43 24
±5.385
Table 4. Characterisitcs of feeding and living burrows of Indian pangolin in district Chakwal
24. Body measurements
Area of
Capture
Sex Body
Weight
(Kg)
Head-body
length
(inch)
Tail
length
(Inch)
Total
length
(Inch)
Snout
length
(Inch)
Ear size
(cm)
Paw size
(cm)
Chakwal
(Bhoun)
Male
juvenile
7 14 11 25 1 1 1
Chakwal
(jubair pur)
Male adult 19.3 34 28 62 6.25 2 -
Islamabad Male adult 15.4 29 28.5 57 6.25 2 5
Table 5. Body measurements of captured specimens
25. Scale measurements
scales number Scale size
dorsal ventral head trunk tail
Head trunk tail tail
40 78 130 70 2.5 cm 4.5 cm 3cm
79 81 158 106 3.5cm 5cm 4cm
50 81 105 40 3cm 6cm 8cm
Table 6. Body measurements of captured specimens
26. Fecal samples
Area of collection Sample No. Weight Length Diameter
(g) (cm) (cm)
1 8 4 6
Chumbi Surla 2 5 3 3
3 7 3 2
Jubair Pur 1 8 4 7
2 6 4 8
1 14 4 6
2 34 4 9
Murreed 3 38 7.5 8
4 32 4.5 7
5 38 7 9.5
Total 10 190 45 65.5
Mean ±SD 19 ±14.40 4.5 ±1.52 6.55 ±2.5
Table 7. Details of fecal samples collected from the the study area
27. Faecal analysis
Food items recovered % Frequency
(N=10)
% Volume
(N=10)
Insects (Ants) Heads 100 (10) 7.6
Other body parts 100 (10) 30.4
Termites 0.00(0) 0.00
Soil particles 100(10) 62
Table 8. Analysis of the fecal samples of Indian pangolin collected from the study area.
28. Fecal sample analysis
Figure 4. Percentage composition of fecal samples
8%
62%
30%
Insects head Other body parts of insects Soil particles
29. Fecal analysis
Figure 5. Photographs of faecal samples with seperated ants,
head and other body parts
30. Pangolin Prey Species
Camponotus confucil Camponotus
termitidae
Figure 6. Prey species of indian pangolin
Termite Species Odonto termis obesus
31. Recommendations
1. To highlight the role of Indian pangolin in
Biological Pest management
2. To develop a Conservation Strategy
32. General habitat of area Termite colonies
Figure 7. General habitat of the area and termite colonies
33. Living burrow Feeding burrow
Figure 8. Living and feeding burrows of indian pangolin
