Pangolins are unique, scaled mammals that inhabit parts of Asia and Africa. They are the only known mammals covered entirely in keratin scales. Because they are rarely seen, questions often arise about the physical danger they might pose to people. This perception of danger requires distinguishing between a direct physical threat and a potential biological risk.
Physical Threat Assessment
A pangolin poses virtually no physical threat to a human due to the animal’s shy, solitary temperament. Pangolins are nocturnal creatures whose primary reaction to any perceived danger is not aggression, but defense or flight. They possess long, powerful claws, but these are adapted for tearing into termite mounds and ant nests, not for attacking larger animals.
When a pangolin feels threatened, its instinct is to curl into a tight, nearly impenetrable ball. This defensive posture protects its soft underbelly and face with its overlapping, keratin-based scales. While a large pangolin’s scales, worked by powerful muscles, could inflict a wound if a hand were jammed between them, the animal’s sole objective is to protect itself. This behavior, which is highly effective against natural predators like lions, unfortunately makes them easy targets for human poachers.
Disease Risk to Humans
The most significant danger associated with pangolins is biological. Zoonosis is the transfer of viruses or pathogens from animals to humans. Pangolins, like other wildlife, can naturally carry various viruses and parasites in their systems and have received scientific attention for their potential role in this process.
The risk of pathogen spillover increases when pangolins are captured, trafficked, and stressed, bringing them into unnatural proximity with other animals and humans. Scientific studies have identified coronaviruses in trafficked Malayan pangolins that share a high degree of genetic material with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Researchers have suggested that pangolins may have acted as an intermediate host, bridging the viral jump from bats to humans. This biological risk is almost exclusively tied to the illegal trade, consumption, and direct handling of these stressed animals, rather than casual interaction in their natural habitat.
The True Danger: Threats to Pangolins
Humans pose a significant threat to the pangolin population. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal, with an estimated over one million individuals poached in the last decade. This unsustainable level of exploitation has driven all eight pangolin species in Asia and Africa toward the brink of extinction.
The primary drivers of this intense poaching are the demand for pangolin meat, which is considered a delicacy in some parts of Asia, and the use of their scales in traditional medicine. The demand for scales remains high, even though they have no proven medicinal value. In addition to poaching, the pangolin population is severely impacted by habitat loss as human development encroaches on their forest and grassland ecosystems.