Using local ecological knowledge to improve the effectiveness of detecting white-bellied pangolins (Phataginus tricuspis) using camera traps: A case study from Deng-Deng National Park, Cameroon

Abstract

First paragraph: Pangolins (Order: Pholidota) remain one of the most challenging groups of mammals to detect and study. Yet, locating and documenting pangolin presence is essential to provide data on their distribution and population, which help to build effective conservation strategies. Pangolins are considered to be elusive and many of their ecological traits, such as low population density, largely nocturnal and solitary lifestyle, and use of burrows and cavities make it difficult to gather relevant information from commonly used monitoring approaches that are effective for other mammals (Ingram, Willcox, & Challender, 2019; Nash, Wong, & Turvey, 2016; Willcox et al., 2019). The white-bellied pangolin, Phataginus tricuspis, is a semi-arboreal species that feeds exclusively on ants and termites (Akpona, Djagoun, & Sinsin, 2008; Kingdon et al., 2013). They typically inhabit dense forest though also occur in forest–savannah–crop mosaics at times(Pietersen et al., 2019). The ecology of this species is poorly known due in part, to the challenges of studying pangolins and a lack of standardised research methods. (Willcox et al., 2019). Here, we evaluate the utility of local ecological knowledge (LEK) in tailoring camera-trap surveys, a detection method increasingly used for pangolins, to improve detection efficiency for occurrence and ecological studies for the white-bellied pangolin.