Moving into the future, we ought to be more intentional in the protection of a variety of species including pangolins. Pangolins are scaly mammals commonly found in Africa and Asia. Pangolin species vary with regard to the continent where they are found. In Africa, the distribution includes White-bellied, Black-bellied, Giant ground, and Temminck’s pangolins. Conversely, in Asia, the distribution comprises Sunda, Philippine, Chinese, and Indian pangolins.The risk that the pangolin population faces in either continent is high, which is why they need much protection from pressures such as illegal trade. It is estimated that about 1 million pangolins were trafficked in just ten years towards 2020. So, events such as World Pangolin Day must be held to stir discussions on averting the pressures that pangolins face.
What does ‘World Pangolin Day’ signify?
A day like World Pangolin Day carries great significance to the protection of pangolins. The World Pangolin Day is celebrated every third Saturday of February. For this year (2024), it was commemorated on the 17th of February 2024. It’s on this remarkable day upon which we come to appreciate the crucial role of pangolins to the ecosystem greatly. On it, we also come to deeply probe the conservation status of pangolins, assess the protection risks that pangolins face, and ponder on the protective mechanisms that would clog any loopholes in the protection of pangolins.
For this year’s World Pangolin Day, our longtime collaborator – The Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria (PCGN) implemented a series of activities and we teamed up with the organization to join their efforts in this regard. This year’s World Pangolin Day matured with a host of activities that stood to its name. These included the Bode market rally and a Zoom webinar which occurred on the 16th of February 2024. The grand finale of events in commemoration of World Pangolin Day was a Symposium that was held on the 17th of February 2024 at the University of Ibadan. All these events were a result of a long collaboration that we share with the Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria (PCGN) on the conservation of pangolins.
We share more about the details of these events below.
The Bode Market Rally
Events approaching the 2024 World Pangolin Day ignited on the 16th of February 2024. The first of these events was the Bode Market rally in Ibadan. This was accomplished with the force of 30 student volunteers from the University of Ibadan (Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism and the Department of Zoology), the 7 members of PCGN and the 2 OHDI staff members.
Our first undertaking was the approval request from the Bode market leadership to conduct our rally in the market. It was after gaining their initial support that we made a pangolin conservation walk around Bode market. This was an educational experience for the traders on the importance of conserving the pangolins and the importance of World Pangolin Day. We went further into educating the market vendors about the significance of pangolins in the ecosystem and the risks they face like illegal trade. Our informative sessions further explained the ecological role of pangolins, their endangered status, and the detrimental effects of their trade on ecosystems. These traders shared their experiences and insights on selling the pangolins, and this presented an opportunity for us to encourage them to actively participate in pangolin conservation efforts by adopting sustainable practices. This market rally improved the Bode market vendor’s knowledge on the importance of pangolin conservation and the role they can play in protecting these species.
The Webinar
On the same day, the 16th of February 2024, we witnessed yet another informative event –a Zoom webinar on “Working to keep pangolins in the wild”. This event attracted 50 registrants and featured talks from two seasoned professionals in the person of Festus Iyorah and Kelsey Skinner.
The webinar started with an opening remark from Dr Oladipo Omotosho of Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria (PCGN) who welcomed all participants and emphasized the role of PCGN in pangolin conservation in Nigeria.
Festus Iyorah, the Nigeria representative of the Wild Africa Fund delivered the first lecture on the topic of the role of Wild Africa Funds in Nigeria in pangolin conservation and he highlighted the challenges to pangolin conservation efforts in Nigeria. Direct human influences and weak conservation policies were central to his discussion.
The second lecture was delivered by Kelsey Skinner Cuc Phuong from the National Park, Ninh Binh, Vietnam. She shared greatly about the work she conducted while in South Africa on pangolin conservation, including aspects on pangolin biology. She shared experiences about the care of pangolins and their nursing –including making surgeries while they were hurt.
The questions and contributions concerning the presentations signified a keen audience that had at this event. At the end of the webinar, Dr Oladipo Omotosho delivered the closing remarks. He thanked the guest speakers and all participants for their active support in making the program successful.
The World Pangolin Day Symposium
Guided by the strong theme of “Unity for the conservation of pangolins: Working to keep pangolins in the wild”, we epitomized celebrations of World Pangolin Day. This event happened on Saturday 17th of February 2024, at the Zoology Lecture Theatre (ZLT) of the University of Ibadan.
Among those present for the event were key stakeholders in the protection of pangolins including Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officials, Nigeria National Park Services, Nigeria Immigration Service, and Nigeria Customs Service. Stakeholders from the NESREA, staff of the Forest Center, IITA, and Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF) also graced the occasion. Our presence, that of the Wildlife Society of Nigeria, Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria, and Wildlife of Africa Conservation Initiative uplifted the event. Representation by 30 secondary schools within Oyo State, and students from the University of Ibadan depicted much promise for the protection of pangolins.
The event featured presentations from a powerful guest speaker lineup which included Professor Olajumoke Morenikeji (Chair, Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria); Christina Connelly-Kanmaz (Vice Consul, U.S. Consulate General, Lagos); Professor Zachariah Buba Yaduma (Director General/CEO, Forestry Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) and Dr. Elijah Nelson Udofia (Southwest Zonal Director, NESREA. We were greatly moved by the 16 Secondary school students who made presentations on pangolin and the Oyo town cultural dancers whose performance added voice to pangolin conservation.
Joining other NGOs scheduled for a panel discussion at the symposium was a representative from One Health and Development Initiative (OHDI). He talked about OHDI’s mission, addressed the protection challenges that pangolins face, and outlined the strategies we have in stock for dealing with such challenges with targeted interventions on pangolin protection in Nigeria.
Dr. Coker moderated the interactive sessions and contributions were made by the likes of Prof. A.B. Odaibo, the representatives of the law enforcement agencies and the guest speakers. This discussion highlighted the vital contributions of security personnel to pangolin conservation efforts in Nigeria, vividly illustrating the interconnected roles each plays in advancing this significant cause. Secondary school students who had made presentations at the event left with gifts and prizes as a token of gratitude for their concern for the conservation of pangolins.
To wrap this, there was much fulfilment in the activities that we held on the 17th of February 2024 in commemoration of World Pangolin Day at the University of Ibadan. On this day, we witnessed an assemblage of key pangolin conservation players now, and in the future. Their convening meant a lot for what action on the protection of pangolins is to constitute currently and in time to come. Events before this remarkable day also brought closer people in the community of Ibadan –particularly at Bode Market, and all over the world to the discussions that were leading to World Pangolin Day. We remain united on PANGOLIN PROTECTION!
