World Pangolin Day

Facts for Prelims

World Pangolin Day

News: On the eve of World Pangolin Day observed on February 18, TRAFFIC (a not-for-profit organisation working on the international trade of animals and plants), has reported that 1,203 pangolins have been found in illegal wildlife trade in India from 2018 to 2022.

About:
 Pangolins are among the most trafficked wild mammals globally.
 India is home to two species - Indian Pangolin (Endangered), found across the subcontinent and Chinese Pangolin (Critically Endangered), is found across a larger area in south Asia.
 Both species are included under India’s Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (Jail term for those hunting animals listed here)
 Appendix I of CITES (meaning they are most endangered)
 They play a vital role in ecosystem management, mostly in aerating and adding moisture to the soil as well as the succession of plant communities through burrowing