Giant pangolin rediscovered in Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal

A discreet camera has produced spectacular evidence at a time when experts had expected only a quiet disappearance: a rare African mammal, regarded as gone from the country since the late 1990s, is still roaming Senegal’s savannahs and forests.

A shadow in the night makes history

Between February and May 2023, staff from Panthera Senegal and Senegal’s national parks authority set up more than 200 camera traps in Niokolo-Koba National Park in the east of the country. Their original aim was to monitor lions, leopards and other large predators. Once the footage had been assessed, however, one animal above all took centre stage: the giant pangolin, scientifically known as Smutsia gigantea.

In the early hours of 8 March 2023, at precisely 1:37 am, a camera positioned in a dry riverbed captured a distinctive armoured silhouette. The images clearly show an adult giant pangolin moving slowly among branches and sediment. For Senegal, the discovery was a major event.

“This is the first confirmed giant pangolin in Senegal since 1999 – and the first photographic record since 1967.”

The scientific journal African Journal of Ecology published the finding in 2024. It formally confirmed what many conservationists had scarcely dared to hope: the animal, thought to have been locally extirpated from the country’s savannahs, is still alive – hidden and rare, but not gone.

Why Niokolo-Koba National Park matters so much

Niokolo-Koba National Park covers more than 9,000 square kilometres – roughly the size of Cyprus. Much of the park is made up of a mosaic of savannah, woodland and waterways. For a long time, it was principally viewed as a refuge for lions, antelopes and hippopotamuses. The new study now brings the giant pangolin into focus as well.

The location of the recording is especially significant: the pangolin was travelling through a wooded gallery forest in the eastern part of the protected area. Earlier sightings had largely come from the Simenti region, much farther west. This suggests that the species’ remaining population may have shifted within the park.

• Park area: more than 9,000 km²
• Monitoring period: February to May 2023
• Number of camera traps: more than 200
• Mammal species recorded: 45 weighing more than 200 grams

Niokolo-Koba therefore plays a key part in safeguarding threatened species in West Africa. The park is one of the region’s last large, relatively intact landscapes. Keeping species stable here gives them a form of life insurance, particularly at a time of deforestation and land conversion.

How threatened the giant pangolin is in West Africa

The giant pangolin is Africa’s largest pangolin species. Its range theoretically extends from Senegal to western Kenya. Although that appears extensive on a map, the reality is increasingly fragmented. Habitats are being broken up, forests cleared, and new farms and settlements established.

It also faces intense hunting pressure. Giant pangolins are targeted for their meat and scales. The latter are sold on illegal markets, especially in Asia, where they are attributed a high value. As a result, many populations are declining without accurate data being available.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies the giant pangolin as “Endangered”. This status rests on several factors:

• Habitat loss: Deforestation and agricultural expansion remove habitat and refuge areas.
• Poaching: Animals are captured for the meat trade and the illegal scale trade.
• Low detectability: Many populations decline unnoticed because very little data exists.

There have been no reliable records in many protected areas across West Africa for years. Experts describe this as “local extinction”: the species survives globally, but is effectively absent from particular countries or regions. That was precisely the fate facing the giant pangolin in Senegal – until the camera in Niokolo-Koba was triggered.

Where the giant pangolin lives and why hardly anyone sees it

Giant pangolins are highly specialised animals. They occupy a variety of habitats, but always require a degree of cover and tranquillity. Typical locations include:

• humid forests
• wooded savannahs
• transition zones between forest and grassland
• gallery forests along rivers

These animals are nocturnal and exceptionally secretive. During the day, they rest in deep burrows that they dig themselves or take over from other animals. Only after dark do they emerge to search for ant and termite nests, which they raid with their long tongues.

“Anyone who is not out at night with infrared cameras will almost never see a giant pangolin.”

That is exactly what makes research so difficult. Many monitoring methods are designed for big cats or hoofed mammals: large bodies, conspicuous movement and established routes. Pangolins, by contrast, travel quietly, slowly and alone, often away from obvious game trails. Even where their presence is certain, camera records are frequently extremely scarce.

Why conventional wildlife monitoring fails here

Rangers and biologists usually count footprints, droppings or direct sightings. For giant pangolins, such clues are uncommon. Their scales leave almost no useful traces, while the animals blend into the background in darkness. Consequently, many populations are underestimated or not recorded at all.

The Niokolo-Koba study shows how this can be improved. A dense network of camera traps, installed not only on obvious wildlife paths but also in riverbeds and transition zones, increases the chance of recording an animal such as the giant pangolin at least occasionally.

What the finding means for species conservation

The unexpected record in Senegal is not a reason to sound the all-clear, but it is a rare source of hope. It demonstrates that even critically threatened species can persist in concealed corners where enough space remains and hunting does not become overwhelming.

For these remaining populations to have a future, three elements are needed:

• Protection of large areas: Only extensive, connected landscapes provide sufficient space for stable populations.
• Consistent anti-poaching controls: Without ranger presence and law enforcement, every gain remains fragile.
• Targeted monitoring: Methods must be tailored to the animals’ secretive behaviour.

In the case of the giant pangolin, thermal cameras, specially positioned camera traps and scent-tracking dogs could be used, for example. At the same time, reliable information on trade and smuggling routes is needed to restrict the illegal market.

Why pangolins are so often targeted

Pangolins are under severe pressure worldwide. Their scales are made of keratin, much like human fingernails. Even so, they command high prices in parts of Asia because they are believed to have special effects in traditional medicine. There is no scientific evidence for this, but it remains highly lucrative commercially – at the animals’ expense.

Pangolins also appear relatively defenceless. They have no teeth, no bite and no dangerous means of attack. Their only defence is to curl into a ball and rely on their scales. That offers little protection against modern snares and firearms.

In rural areas with low incomes, selling a single animal can bring a meaningful profit. People who are hungry or need to support their families rarely prioritise international Red Lists. This is why many conservation projects now also focus on alternatives: other sources of income, public awareness work and stronger involvement of local people in protecting “their” wildlife.

What this rediscovery means for us

The giant pangolin’s unexpected appearance in Niokolo-Koba shows how much remains hidden within African protected areas. Many species already listed in statistics as “probably gone” may survive in small remnant populations – undetected, at least until a camera is activated at the right moment.

For conservation, the case offers an important lesson: gaps in the data do not automatically mean that a species has already been lost. At the same time, the finding must not obscure how close the giant pangolin is to the brink. One verified record is no substitute for a long-term population assessment.

Anyone wondering why so much effort is devoted to a single nocturnal, scale-covered animal need only consider its role in the ecosystem. Giant pangolins regulate ant and termite populations, loosen soil through their digging and create new shelter for other animals. If the species disappears, the balance changes – often gradually, but noticeably.

The unassuming camera trap in a Senegalese riverbed therefore delivered more than a spectacular photograph. It showed that persistence in field research can pay off – and that every saved population represents a piece of the future for an entire landscape.