Lahore, December 17, 2022 (PPI-OT):WWF-Pakistan has been working with the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) in the rescue and protection of pangolins in recent times. After the IWMB rescued two pangolins (an adult and a juvenile) from poachers involved in their illegal trade, last week, WWF-Pakistan proposed the idea of installing radio telemetry transmitters on them with the help of PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi. The subsequent installation of radio telemetry devices was successfully done on 13 December.
Poaching and illegal wildlife trade of the Indian pangolin are the main threats that are driving the decline of this endangered species in Pakistan. These threats are exacerbated mainly due to the lack of awareness as pangolins are seen as agricultural pests along with other negative perceptions among the local communities. This has led to their poaching.
WWF-Pakistan aims to strengthen in-situ pangolin conservation by enhancing law enforcement capacity, improving community awareness to effectively protect this species, and implementing a series of conservation interventions for pangolins via different projects.
Telemetry methods are a reliable tool for gathering data on species’ area use and survival rates and will prove to be an efficient technique in finding out the home range of Indian pangolins. Telemetry-based methods have been applied to most pangolin species but this is the first time that this method has been used on the Indian pangolin in Pakistan.
For more information, contact:
Head Office,
WWF – Pakistan
P.O. Box 5180, Ferozepur Road, Lahore, Pakistan
UAN: +92-42-111-993-725
Tel: +92-42-35855145-50
Fax: +92-42-35862358
E-mail: info@wwf.org.pk
Website: http://www.wwfpak.org/