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Once determined, this knowledge can be shared A female pangolin and her offspring (known as a pangopup).
with rehabilitation centers in Asia and Africa,
providing these centers with the tools to properly care
for these animals and improve their chances of release
back into the wild.

“We’re pushing the limits of what we’re doing as
scientists,” Aitken-Palmer said. “It’s 2018, we know
a lot about what’s out there—but this is something
where we’ve started from almost zero. We’re the ones
finding the answers.”
While Society staff are leading the charge, when
it comes to protecting pangolins, it really takes an
international community—and the August symposium
was instrumental in developing just that. More than 50
experts, from all over the world, including the United
States, India, Taiwan, Togo, and the United Kingdom,
gathered to collaborate on strategies for saving these
threatened animals.

They shared their expertise and began development
of a master plan for managed populations of all eight
pangolin species, along with a messaging strategy for
education and about ex-situ (outside of their natural
habitat) populations' involvement in conservation.
The Consortium also awarded several grants to
individuals and organizations that will go toward
research and conservation of these species, both in
the wild and in professional care.

While Society staff is thrilled with the symposium’s
success, they are already looking forward to what
they can do next. They hope to collaborate with the
University of Lomé in Togo to conduct more field
work and determine what pangolins really need in
their habitats, both in the wild and in professionally
managed care. Staff could also compare blood samples
from wild pangolins with those in institutions, and
modify their diet to be even more accurate.

Zeigler also hopes to continue to build strong
relationships with other pangolin conservation
organizations. To save all eight species requires a
holistic approach—not only to protect the species
in their habitat, but to change the driving cultural
forces that threaten the group as a whole. Protecting
pangolins from extinction is a global issue and requires
a global response, which the Society is committed to
continuing to cultivate.

Our great thanks to Barbara Levy Kipper for her
generous support of the pangolin program. █

30 GATEWAYS | PANGOLINS