Pangolins have recently received a lot of attention due to the recent pandemic of Covid-19. It is speculated that the new coronavirus incubated in bats and was transmitted to humans through endangered pangolins.
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The current global health crisis is believed to have begun in a wildlife market or wet market in the province of Wuhan, China, the same as the SARS virus. However, the SARS virus was transmitted to humans through another animal called a Civet.
Conservationists in Asia and Africa have been combining efforts to save the dwindling species of Pangolin. Not much is known about Pangolins, but in this interview with scientific research expert Benoit Goossens of Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia, we will get a glimpse of this gentle species and why it is now in the limelight of protection.
Danau Girang Field Center (DGFC) is located on the Island of Borneo, the third largest island in the world. It is situated in an ideal location rich in biodiversity in the rainforest of the lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. DGFC is a research and training facility managed by the Sabah Wildlife Department and Cardiff University of the United Kingdom.
Shy and vulnerable
Pangolins are a very elusive and unique mammal. They are a gentle and shy species and when threatened they simply roll into a ball protecting themselves with their full armour of scales. Unfortunately for them this does not protect them from humans and actually makes them quite easy to be scooped up by poachers. Young pangolins will stay with their mothers for several months riding on their backs while learning survival skills. As an adult they live solitary lives and have a life expectancy of up to 20 years, however the exact age is unknown in the wild. They are often called a scaly ant eater as their diet consists of ants and termites. They also play an important part of our ecosystem by keeping the ant and termite population balanced.
Katerina: Tell me about yourself and how you arrived at DGFC in Sabah, Borneo?
Dr. Benoit Goossens: I’m a Belgian citizen who left when I was 18 years old. I studied in France (Grenoble), and got a PhD in Ecology in 1998 from University Joseph Fourier in Grenoble. Then I moved to London where I started a post-doc at the Institute of Zoology of the Zoological Society of London, working on mating systems and conservation genetics of the Sumatran orangutan. After a year I moved to Cardiff University. I started working in Sabah in 2000, running a project on the conservation genetics of the Bornean orangutan in the Kinabatangan from 2000 to 2003, then after a couple of years spent in Gabon and in France, I moved back to Sabah to work on the conservation genetics of the Bornean elephant, from 2005 to 2008. This is when I started setting up DGFC (2007). I opened the doors of DGFC in July 2008. I got married to a Mexican woman and my son, eight-years-old, was born here in Sabah.
After spending some time in Sabah, I can certainly understand how your passion grew for this amazing island with its vast diversity of life. It’s truly a never-ending paradise of discovery for a research facility.
The Pangolin has grabbed news headlines lately due to its connection to the recent coronavirus, Covid-19. What can you tell us about this and do you think it will have a significant effect on the future of the eight pangolin species?
I don’t know how accurate those results coming from China are, but if this is true, it might have an effect on wildlife trade in general and on pangolin trade in particular. Right now, there is a temporary ban on wildlife animal trade, but for how long? Even if the trafficking can be decreased during this pandemic, as soon as it is sorted it is very likely that China will lift the ban on wildlife markets and business as usual will restart, as it did in 2003 after the SARS outbreak. The ban was lifted just six months after it started.
The Pangolin is the most trafficked mammal on the planet, other than humans, accounting for 20% of all illegal wildlife trade. Why is there such a large market for these animals?
Yes, all eight species of pangolins (four in Africa, four in Asia) are the most trafficked animals on the world. Their scales are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and their meat is consumed in restaurants. Most of the trafficked pangolins are destined to China.
Of the eight pangolin species, six are either endangered or critically endangered while two are considered vulnerable to extinction. As the director of DGFC, what is your primary focus with regards to conservation and the now endangered Sunda pangolins found in Borneo?
My primary focus is to train the future generation of Malaysian conservationists. One was Nurzhafarina Othman who did her PhD with me on the Bornean elephant and she is now running her own NGO, Seratu Aatai, focusing on human-elephant conflicts. Another PhD student, Elisa Panjang, is passionate about pangolins and she is currently doing her PhD with me on the species. She will become the Ambassador for Sunda pangolin in Sabah. I’m also involved in policy work and, together with Elisa, I was instrumental in getting the Sunda pangolin upgraded to Schedule 1 of Totally Protected Species under the Sabah Wildlife Enactment 1997.
What has the Sabah Wildlife department and DGFC been doing to protect the pangolins in the last 10 years?
DGFC is doing a lot of capacity building and is responsible for the training of Elisa Panjang to become the expert on Sunda pangolin. SWD has upgraded the Sunda pangolin to Schedule 1 of Totally Protected Species under the Sabah Wildlife Enactment 1997. DGFC is supporting the Sabah Forestry Department in increasing the size of their enforcement unit, PROTECT. DGFC is also supporting the Sabah Wildlife Department with the setting up of an intelligence and forensic unit, and for that we have secured funding from the US government.
When was the largest amount of illegally seized pangolins?
I believe that the biggest seizure of pangolin parts in Sabah was in February 2019, with 29.8 tons of pangolins. The haul included about 1,800 boxes full of frozen pangolins stuffed inside three refrigerated containers, 572 more frozen pangolins in six freezers, 61 live pangolins in cages and in a car boot and 361kg of pangolin scales.
How dangerous is the wildlife trade in Borneo?
Wildlife trade can drive species to extinction, especially if it is combined with habitat loss and fragmentation. It is also usually linked to other crimes such as drug trafficking and human trafficking.
How many Sunda pangolins are left alive in Borneo?
We have no idea about the population size of the Sunda pangolin in Sabah, and even less in Borneo. The species is extremely elusive and the only way to estimate population size would be to carry out a state-wide camera trap survey that would be extremely costly. What we do know is that the detection rate is very slow and that they can be found almost everywhere (including close to human settlements).
What can we do to help the species?
Increase awareness on the plight of the species. Report any trafficking, selling, consumption of pangolins to the wildlife authorities.
Awareness at an all-time high
Never in history has there been a pandemic involving this many lives. It is evident that illegal activity occurs in wildlife trafficking which trickles down to wildlife markets – a breeding ground for disease – as well as social media platforms. Considering this developing news, it’s time we stand up and rethink our values of life and what positive changes we can make for the future of our planet. Whether your concerns are with human life, animal life, ethical or ecological reasons, or preservation of our planet, now is the time to support change for the ethical treatment of human and animal life. Let this crisis lead us to creative innovations and positive changes.
Contact : goossensbr@cardiff.ac.uk
For donations : www.justgiving.com
For more information : www.dgfc.life
Top photo: © Scuba Zoo
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