Context: 

On the eve of World Pangolin Day observed on February 18, a not-for-profit organization working on the international trade of animals and plants has brought out a fact sheet reporting that 1,203 pangolins have been found in illegal wildlife trade in India from 2018 to 2022.

Image Source: The Hindu

Findings of the publication, titled ‘India’s Pangolins Buried in Illegal Wildlife Trade’

• An analysis of illegal pangolin trade in India by TRAFFIC in 2018 reported poaching of 6,000 pangolins between 2009 and 2017.
• India reports a significant number of pangolin trafficking incidents reflected by seizures across the country. 
• They are poached mainly for international markets in China and southeast Asia for their scales, which are used as an ingredient in traditional medicines.
• Odisha reported the maximum number of incidents, with 154 Pangolins in 74 seizures followed by Maharashtra with 135 Pangolins.

About Pangolins:

• The Pangolin is the most trafficked animal in the world.
• Pangolins are the only mammals wholly-covered in scales and they use those scales to protect themselves from predators in the wild.  
• Pangolins eat ants, termites and larvae and are often known as the scaly anteater. 
• Eight species of pangolins are found on two continents namely Asia and Africa. They range from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered.
• Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) are found in India.
• Protection: 

• • It is listed under the Schedule I Part I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. 
  • It is listed in Appendix I of CITES in accordance with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
  • Indian pangolin – Endangered; Chinese pangolin – Critically Endangered.

Source: The Hindu,  traffic.org