The Pangolin Project

Coutada 11 is a wildlife management area in the vast, productive Zambezi Delta ecosystem of central Mozambique. The wildlife populations were decimated during the Mozambican civil war, but careful stewardship of the area and the introduction of anti-poaching units have allowed for a remarkable recovery. In May 2023, Coutada 11 became a rehabilitation site for Temminck’s ground pangolins (Smutsia temminckii) confiscated from illegal poachers in Mozambique. As these pangolins often arrive dehydrated and underfed, the conservation and research team ensures each individual is foraging, drinking, and gaining weight before releasing them back into the wild. VHF & GPS tags are attached to their scales to aid post-release monitoring and ensure they survive and adapt in their new environment. This also provides valuable insights into their ecology and activity patterns in the Zambezi Delta ecosystem. We also attach tags to some of the resident pangolins found in Coutada 11 to improve our understanding of their behaviour and ecology, as the species is severely understudied.