DISTRIBUTION, POPULATION ESTIMATION AND AWARENESS OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY FOR THE INDIAN PANGOLIN (MANIS CRASSICAUDATA) IN THE KOHAT DISTRICT, PAKISTAN

The Indian pangolin ( Manis crassicaudata ), categorized as “Endangered “by the IUCN and included in the Appendix-I of the CITES, is illegally hunted for its scales in Pakistan and its population is declining rapidly for the last decade. The species has stayed neglected in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where studies focusing on its ecology and illegal trade are scanty. The current study, therefore, aimed at determining the distribution and estimating the population of Indian pangolin in Kohat district, one of species known range. Field visits to the study area were made each month during September 2018 to July 2019 for data collection. Results showed that Indian pangolin had limited distribution in the study area; being recorded at only three out of seven sampling sites surveyed, at elevation ranging from 390 m to 471 m. Field signs of the species like its active living burrows were recorded at three positive sampling sites only. Mean population density of Indian pangolin estimated from the field data was found to be very low, 0.29 individuals/km 2 , Questionnaire survey conducted involving local community revealed poaching and illegal killing of Indian pangolin for its scales, being the main threat to its little remaining population in the Kohat District. Majority of respondents thought that the population of the species had declined greatly in the study area during past few years. The study recommends strict law enforcement along with creating more awareness among local people to conserve the species in the study area.