Helping to protect Kenya’s rarest mammal and its forest home.
Covered in distinctive hard scales, pangolins are shy, elusive, and nocturnal mammals found across Africa and Asia. All eight living species have recently gained significant attention in wildlife conservation. Unfortunately, they are collectively the most illegally trafficked mammals globally, driven by an insatiable demand for their scales and meat in Asia.
Kenya is home to two species of African ground pangolins: Temminck’s pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) and the Giant Pangolin (Smutsia gigantea). These fascinating creatures move ponderously by night, relying on their highly developed sense of smell to locate ants and termites, which they consume using their long, sticky tongues.
Pangolins play a crucial role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. By monitoring these indicator species, we gain valuable insights into the health of their environments. Granting pangolins ‘flagship species’ status helps safeguard the rich biodiversity of their habitats, which are essential for thriving flora, insect life, and healthy soils. These elements are fundamental for a balanced ecosystem, ultimately supporting human health, food security, and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
The Nyekweri Forest, located adjacent to the Oloololo escarpment overlooking the iconic Masai Mara National Reserve, is an easternmost fragment of the Congo-Guinea forest. For millennia, this forest had been a vital wildlife refuge and a biodiversity hotspot.
Nyekweri is Kenya’s last known refuge for the Giant Pangolin, a species thought to have been extinct from the country until very recently. It is estimated that fewer than 30 individuals now remain here and their survival is threatened by habitat destruction, poaching, and deadly electric fencing.
The forest faces an urgent crisis. In just the past decade, it has been subdivided among 2,170 landowners, resulting in a tragic 80% loss of its cover. This catastrophic deforestation is primarily due to illegal logging and rampant charcoal production.
This rapid degradation not only endangers the Giant Pangolins and a rich diversity of other wildlife but also jeopardises local livelihoods and the region’s ability to regulate water and climate. Conservation efforts are crucial to reversing this devastation and protecting the remaining patches of this unique and vital ecosystem.
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