Pangolins are solitary, nocturnal, and generally cryptic Mammals, found across Africa and Asia. They feed on Ants and Termites, and have a covering of scales, made from fused hairs, which are their main defence against predators, rolling into a ball with these forming the outer covering. There are eight recognised species of Pangolin, four in Africa and four in Asia, two of which are listed as Vulnerable under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, three as Endangered, and three as Critically Endangered. One of these Critically Endangered species is the Chinese Pangolin, Manis pentadactyla, which is found across parts of Nepal, Bhutan, northern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, and Taiwan. In India it is known to be present in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam, with occasional reports of its presence in Sikkim and West Bengal, although none of these have been confirmed.
In a paper published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa on 26 June 2026, Prashanti Pradhan of the Sikkim Alpine University, and the Assam Downtown University, Jampal Dorjee Bhutia, also of the Sikkim Alpine University, and Prem Kumar Chhetri and Bharat Kumar Pradhan of the Forest & Environment Department of the Government of Sikkim, document the first confirmed sighting of the Chinese Pangolin in Pakyong District, Sikkim, and provide photographic evidence to support this.
Pradhan et al.'s report is based upon a Pangolin which was found in Barapathing Village in Pakyong District on 31 March 2024. Barapathing Village is located at an altitude of between 1150 and 1700 m in an area where subtropical to temperate broad-leaved forests are being encroached upon by agricultural land and Human settlements, with anthropogenic pressures increasing due to the construction of the 717B National Highway, and associated infrastructure.
The Pangolin was found by a local villager wandering within their backyard, and apparently lost and looking for food. The villager, who was unfamiliar with the species, attempted to drive the Pangolin away, though it was unperturbed by this, and apparently tolerant of Humans, potentially indicating that it had been living in a Human-dominated environment for some time. The Pangolin was eventually allowed to settle in a room, while the resident called the Barapathing Territorial Range Forest & Environment Department, who collected the Animal and relocated it to a subtropical forest downstream of the village.
The rescued Animal was identified as a Chinese Pangolin, Manis pentodactyla, on the basis of its distinct morphological characteristics, such as overlapping keratinous scales, an elongated snout, and robust body form. The photographic evidence collected by Pradhan et al. constitutes evidence that this species is present in the Pakyong District of Sikkim. Local people were able to identify the Animal as a Pangolin using the Nepali word 'Saalak', but reported that they had never seen one so close to a Human habitation before.
The photographs and a description of the Animal were later sent to Vikram Aditya, the principal scientist at the Centre for Wildlife Studies in Bengaluru, Karnataka State, and a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Pangolin Specialist Group, who confirmed the diagnosis of this being a Chinese Pangolin.
Pangolins are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, driven by deforestation, forest fires, and road development, across their range. Sikkim has had one of the greatest expansions of its road network of any state in India during the last decade, with a major road upgrading project close to the village of Barapathing, which is likely to have contributed to both habitat destruction and a greater rate of Human encounters for Pangolins in the area.
Animals can sometimes survive in altered landscapes by adapting their behaviour, however, this can lead them vulnerable to additional hazards, such as increased hunting. The hunting and trafficking of Pangolins is known to be a hazard for Pangolins in Sikkim, in 2021 a group of five people was arrested trying to smuggle a dead Pangolin from Sikkim into Bhutan, and when questioned they confessed the Animal had been killed in a wildlife sactuary in Sikkim. They also hinted at there being an international wildlife trafficking network operating across the eastern Himalayan region.
Pradhan et al. suggest that there is an urgent need for a baseline ecological study on Chinese Pangolins in Sikkim, in order to better understand the threats linked to development-related habitat fragmentation, illegal hunting and transboundary trafficking, and to enable the development of a conservation plan for the species in the state,
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