Ground pangolins are highly specialised eaters, feeding almost exclusively on ants and termites located and excavated during nightly foraging bouts. That specialisation makes them unusually sensitive to a threat that receives far less attention than poaching or habitat clearance: drought. Southern Africa's periodic El Niño-driven dry spells, some of the most severe on record in recent decades, measurably reduce the termite and ant colonies pangolins depend on — with direct consequences for body condition, foraging effort, and, in extreme cases, survival.
Why Pangolins Are Especially Vulnerable to Drought
Unlike generalist omnivores that can shift diet when a preferred food becomes scarce, ground pangolins (Smutsia temminckii) are myrmecophagous specialists, feeding almost exclusively on a relatively narrow range of ant and termite species located through smell and excavated with powerful claws. This specialisation, which serves them well under normal conditions, removes the flexibility that would let them compensate for a prey shortage by switching to alternative food sources during hard times.
Pangolins also carry limited fat reserves relative to their body size and lack the ability to enter torpor or hibernation to ride out lean periods, unlike some other insectivorous mammals. This combination — dietary specialisation plus limited energy reserves — leaves little buffer when their primary prey becomes scarce for an extended period.
How Drought Reduces Termite and Ant Availability
Colony Retreat and Collapse
Termite and ant colonies depend on soil moisture both directly, for colony metabolism, and indirectly, to sustain the fungal gardens and organic matter that fungus-growing termite species cultivate for food. During prolonged drought, colonies commonly retreat deeper into the soil profile, seal foraging galleries near the surface, or in severe or extended cases collapse entirely, sharply reducing the density of accessible prey within a pangolin's home range.
Changed Mound Activity Patterns
Even where termite mounds remain occupied, drought conditions change activity patterns at the surface, with colonies reducing above-ground foraging activity to conserve moisture. Because pangolins rely partly on surface activity cues and fresh mound workings to identify currently active foraging sites, this reduced surface signal can make it harder for a pangolin to locate a productive mound even where the underlying colony has technically survived.
Hardened, Harder-to-Excavate Soil
Dry, hardened soil is also simply more energetically costly to excavate than moist soil, meaning a pangolin attempting to break into a drought-affected mound or nest must expend more digging effort for a potentially smaller nutritional return — compounding the direct reduction in prey density with an increased energetic cost of accessing what prey remains.
El Niño and Southern African Drought Cycles
El Niño, the warm phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern centred on the tropical Pacific Ocean, is strongly associated with below-average rainfall across much of southern Africa, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique. Some of the region's most severe droughts of the past several decades have coincided with strong El Niño events, producing multi-season rainfall deficits that measurably affect vegetation, soil moisture, and — by extension — termite and ant colony health across ground pangolin range.
Because El Niño events recur on a roughly two-to-seven-year cycle, ground pangolin populations across southern Africa periodically face compressed, multi-month periods of reduced prey availability, adding a climatic layer of stress that compounds the more commonly discussed pressures of habitat loss and poaching.
Behavioural and Physiological Consequences
Pangolin rehabilitation centres in drought-affected parts of South Africa have reported increases in admissions of malnourished, dehydrated, or underweight wild pangolins during severe dry periods, consistent with reduced foraging success translating directly into declining body condition. Affected individuals often show larger nightly foraging ranges as they search farther afield for productive termite and ant colonies, increasing exposure to road crossings, electrified fences, and other human-linked hazards in the process.
Because pangolins obtain much of their water requirement from prey moisture content and dew rather than open drinking, reduced prey intake during drought can also compound direct water stress, particularly in already arid parts of the ground pangolin's savanna and bushveld range.
Drought Impact on Pangolin Foraging at a Glance
| Factor | Drought effect |
|---|---|
| Termite/ant colony behaviour | Retreat underground, reduced surface activity, possible collapse |
| Soil condition | Hardened, more energetically costly to excavate |
| Foraging range | Expands as pangolins search farther for active colonies |
| Body condition | Declines; rehabilitation centres report more malnourished admissions |
| Climate driver | El Niño-linked rainfall deficits across southern Africa |
| Recurrence | Roughly every two to seven years |
FAQ: Drought and Pangolin Foraging
How does drought affect pangolin foraging?
It dries out the soil moisture termite and ant colonies need, causing colonies to retreat underground or collapse, which forces pangolins to travel farther and dig harder for less reliable food.
What is El Niño and why does it matter for pangolins?
A recurring Pacific Ocean warming pattern strongly linked to below-average rainfall and severe drought across southern Africa, which reduces termite and ant prey availability for ground pangolins.
Can drought cause pangolin deaths directly?
Yes — severe, prolonged drought combined with limited fat reserves can lead to starvation, and rehabilitation centres report more malnourished pangolin admissions during major drought years.
Conclusion
Drought rarely appears alongside poaching and habitat loss in mainstream pangolin conservation messaging, yet for a dietary specialist with minimal energy reserves, a severe El Niño-driven dry spell can be just as consequential to individual survival. As climate variability across southern Africa is projected to intensify, understanding and monitoring drought's cascading effects on termite and ant prey availability deserves a more prominent place in ground pangolin conservation planning alongside the threats that already dominate the conversation.