Odisha Special Task Force (STF) has launched a drive to bust an international syndicate that peddles ‘endangered’ pangolin, one of the world’s most illegally traded mammals.
Pangolin is only scaly mammal on the planet.
Of the eight species of pangolin worldwide, two are found in India. They are
Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), mostly found in northeast India
Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata).
Chinese pangolin has been listed as “critically endangered” by UN-affiliated International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.
Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) has been listed as “endangered” in IUCN Red List.
It is also a Schedule I category protected the animal, under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).