First photographic evidence of Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata Geoffroy, 1803 (Mammalia: Pholidota: Manidae), in Colonel Sher Jung National Park, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

The Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata is ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. We report the first photographic evidence of its presence in Colonel Sher Jung National Park of Paonta Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Camera-traps (n = 64) were used to assess the diversity and abundance of terrestrial mammals. Over 1,912 trap nights, we documented 16 mammals, of which the Indian Pangolin was photo-captured at a single camera-trap station with two independent records. Although the presence of species has been indicated in a few studies conducted in the study area, no photographic evidence of the Indian Pangolin from the National Park has previously been reported. We strongly recommend additional fieldwork in and around the protected area to learn more about the Indian Pangolin’s distribution, habitat use, and ecology.