It is World Pangolin Day.
Happy World Pangolin Day!
World Pangolin Day happens on the 18th of February every year. The first World Pangolin Day was celebrated in February 2012.
The aim of World Pangolin Day is to raise awareness about these cute and cool animals. It is also a good day to celebrate and raise awareness about these wonderful and unique animals!
In the wild, pangolins are found living in Asia and Africa. There are eight different species of pangolin, four of these species are found living in Asia, and the other four species are found living in Africa.
The Asian species of pangolin are - the Indian Pangolin, the Philippine pangolin, the Chinese pangolin and the Sunda pangolin.
And, the African species of pangolin are - the giant ground pangolin, the Temminick's ground pangolin, the white-bellied pangolin, and the black-bellied pangolin.
The conservation status of some of these pangolins has changed since Action For Earth wrote about pangolins in 2019, at that time - all eight species of pangolin were either vulnerable to extinction, an endangered species, or a critically endangered species.
In 2019, all of the African species of pangolin were classed as vulnerable to extinction, while all of the Asian species of pangolin were either classed as endangered or critically endangered. However, sadly the conservation status has changed in just a few short years, with further declines in the pangolin population.
White-bellied pangolin - they were vulnerable, their population has since declined and they are now an endangered species.
Giant ground pangolins - were vulnerable to extinction, but they have declined and are now an endangered species.
Philippine pangolin - they were endangered, their population has declined, but are still an endangered species.
Sunda pangolins - remain critically endangered.
Chinese pangolins - remain critically endangered.
Indian pangolins - remain endangered.
Black-bellied pangolins - remain vulnerable to extinction, however, their population is also decreasing.
Temmick's pangolins - remain vulnerable to extinction, however, their population is also still declining.
Today, this means that -
2 pangolin species are critically endangered
4 pangolin species are endangered
2 pangolin species are vulnerable to extinction
This means, that most pangolin species today are either critically endangered or endangered, while all pangolin species are at risk of extinction. To understand the pangolin conservation status, this is the conservation status species can be given -
. Least concern
. Near Threatened
. Vulnerable to extinction
. Endangered
. Critically endangered
. Extinct in the wild
. Extinct
This can give you an idea of how close each species of pangolin are close to extinction.
Pangolins are at risk of extinction and declining due to the illegal wildlife trade, sadly, pangolins are the world's most trafficked animal, and therefore, they are the animal most at risk from the illegal wildlife trade. To save these beautiful animals, we have to protect them from the illegal wildlife trade - protecting and preserving their habitat would also help.
Pangolins are unique and wonderful animals. These cute mammals are nocturnal animals, like the hedgehog, pangolins will curl up into a ball to protect themselves.
There are several things that you can do to help pangolins -
You can support wildlife charities that are working to help protect pangolins
You can help share awareness about pangolins, you could do this through sharing posts using the hashtag #WorldPangolinDay
You can also help pangolins by creating your own pangolin art - create a pangolin drawing, painting, poem or story and share it to raise awareness and appreciation about pangolins
There are also other ways that you can help pangolins, www.worldpangolinday.org has many different tips on how you can help pangolins and celebrate them on this special day.
Happy World Pangolin Day! 🐾