Species → Temminck's Ground Pangolin
Temminck's Ground Pangolin
Smutsia temminckii
What if it disappeared?
Impact ModerateFar from eating any ant or termite indiscriminately, Temminck's pangolin targets only 4 ant species (7.5% of those present on its range) and a single termite species (25% of those present) — a highly selective regulator, not a simple insect vacuum.
DocumentedDetail
Pietersen, D.W., Symes, C.T., Woodborne, S., McKechnie, A.E. et Jansen, R. (2016). Diet and prey selectivity of the specialist myrmecophage, Temminck's ground pangolin. Journal of Zoology, 298(3), 198–208.
By comparing the ant and termite species present at the study site to those actually found in the pangolin's diet, the authors show that the species actively selects a small number of prey rather than feeding at random on whatever is available — a specialization that makes it especially vulnerable should these specific prey species decline.
It is this selective regulator role that mass trafficking puts at risk: about 895,000 pangolins, across all species, were trafficked worldwide over two decades — making the group the most trafficked mammal on the planet, Temminck's pangolin included, hunted for scales sold on Asian markets.
DocumentedDetail
TRAFFIC (2020). Estimation citée dans la couverture de presse de l'analyse TRAFFIC sur le trafic mondial de pangolins, 2000–2019.
Temminck's pangolin, while historically less targeted than the more in-demand Asian species, faces growing pressure as those species are depleted — a demand-shifting pattern already documented for other species threatened by international trafficking. The figure of 895,000 is aggregated across all eight pangolin species; no species-level breakdown isolates the share specifically affecting Temminck's pangolin.
A single pangolin can eat between 1,000 and 60,000 ants or termites in one night — about 15,000 on average — making it a natural regulator of insect populations in semi-arid soils, and giving a concrete measure of what the decline documented in the previous point is eroding.
DocumentedDetail
Panaino, W. et al. (2022). Do seasonal dietary shifts by Temminck's pangolins compensate for winter resource scarcity in a semi-arid environment? Journal of Arid Environments.
By analyzing 98 scats from nine radio-tracked pangolins and observing 1,157 foraging bouts over two years at the Tswalu Reserve (Kalahari), the authors identified more than 160,000 prey items. Consumption varies strongly by season: pangolins forage longer and target more energy-rich prey in winter, when available insects become scarcer, without this fully compensating for the seasonal energy shortfall.
Documentation
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IUCN Red List — Smutsia temminckii, statut de conservation
Accessed August 14, 2026
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Panaino et al. (2022) — Do seasonal dietary shifts by Temminck's pangolins compensate for winter resource scarcity in a semi-arid environment?, Journal of Arid Environments
Accessed August 14, 2026
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Pietersen et al. (2016) — Diet and prey selectivity of the specialist myrmecophage, Temminck's ground pangolin, Journal of Zoology
Accessed August 14, 2026
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TRAFFIC — Nearly 900,000 pangolins trafficked worldwide (couverture Phys.org de l'analyse TRAFFIC)
Accessed August 14, 2026
Last verified: August 14, 2026