The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is South Asia's only pangolin species, and one of the most ecologically flexible members of its order. Unlike some of its Asian relatives, which are closely tied to dense humid forest, the Indian pangolin has colonised an exceptionally wide range of habitats across the subcontinent — from Pakistan's semi-arid scrublands to Sri Lanka's tropical lowland forests. That flexibility, however, has not protected it from decline. The species is now listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with populations falling under the twin pressures of poaching and habitat loss.
The Indian pangolin belongs to the family Manidae, order Pholidota. Its scientific name crassicaudata means "thick-tailed" — a reference to the species' notably robust tail compared to some other pangolins. Adults weigh between 10 and 16 kilograms, making the Indian pangolin one of the larger Asian species. Body length ranges from 45 to 75 centimetres, with the muscular tail adding 33 to 47 centimetres.
The scales are large, pale brown to yellowish-brown, and broadly overlapping. They are among the largest scales of any pangolin species, which has unfortunately made them particularly valued in the illegal wildlife trade. The underside, face, and inner limbs are sparsely haired, pale, and lack scales — a feature common across the genus. The Indian pangolin can be distinguished from the Chinese pangolin by its larger size, broader tail base, and the absence of the bare belly patch that characterises its Chinese relative.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Manis crassicaudata |
| IUCN status | Endangered |
| Adult weight | 10–16 kg |
| Body length | 45–75 cm (plus 33–47 cm tail) |
| Range | India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan |
| Elevation range | Sea level to ~2,000 m |
| Diet | Ants and termites exclusively |
| Protection | CITES Appendix I; Wildlife Protection Act Schedule I (India) |
The Indian pangolin has one of the broadest distributions of any Asian pangolin, spanning much of South Asia. Its range extends from the western foothills of Pakistan and Afghanistan eastward through Nepal and Bangladesh, across virtually all of peninsular India, and south into Sri Lanka. The species occurs on the Indian mainland from the Himalayan foothills down to the southernmost tip of the Deccan Plateau, and across both the Western and Eastern Ghats.
Within this vast range, distribution is far from uniform. The species is now absent or extremely rare in heavily urbanised and intensively farmed areas. Dense human populations across the Indo-Gangetic Plain have fragmented habitat significantly, and Indian pangolins persist primarily in protected areas, forest reserves, and undisturbed agricultural margins in quieter parts of the country. Sri Lanka maintains one of the more intact populations, particularly in the dry zone forests of the north and east.
The Indian pangolin's success across such a wide geographic area rests on its remarkable habitat tolerance. Unlike the Sunda pangolin, which is largely restricted to humid tropical forest, the Indian pangolin can exploit a wide spectrum of vegetation types provided two basic requirements are met: adequate populations of ants and termites as a food source, and soil that is suitable for burrowing.
In wetter parts of its range — the Western Ghats, northeastern India, and much of Sri Lanka — the Indian pangolin occupies tropical moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests. Here it finds rich hunting grounds among the forest floor's abundant ant and termite colonies. Moist forest also provides dense ground cover that helps the pangolin conceal its daytime burrow and move under cover at night. Camera trap studies in the Western Ghats have documented Indian pangolins at elevations from 200 metres near the coast up to approximately 1,800 metres in the higher ranges.
Across large parts of central and northwestern India, Rajasthan, and Pakistan's Punjab and Sindh provinces, the Indian pangolin occupies dry scrubland, acacia thorn forest, and semi-arid bush. These habitats receive less than 600 millimetres of rainfall annually and support very different vegetation to the moist forests of the Ghats. Despite these arid conditions, termite mounds are abundant — large earthen mounds built by harvester and mound-building termites are a conspicuous feature of dry Indian savanna, and they represent a concentrated food resource the pangolin exploits readily.
Some of India's most important pangolin habitat is found not in forest at all, but in the open grasslands and savannas associated with protected areas such as Kanha, Satpura, and the Deccan plateau reserves. Indian pangolins move freely through tall grass, using the cover for protection while foraging. Grassland termite colonies are typically shallower and more distributed than forest colonies, requiring pangolins to cover more ground each night but also providing a more predictable distribution of food across the landscape.
Uniquely among Asian pangolins, the Indian pangolin regularly uses agricultural land, particularly at forest edges. Sugarcane fields, mango orchards, and fallow agricultural land adjacent to forest are used for foraging, and burrows have been documented in raised field boundaries and road embankments. This tolerance of human-modified landscapes provides some resilience in the face of deforestation, but it also exposes the animal to greater human contact — and thus greater poaching risk.
The burrow is central to Indian pangolin ecology. Unlike the arboreal tree pangolin species of Africa, the Indian pangolin is entirely terrestrial and depends on excavated burrows for shelter, thermoregulation, and raising young. Its powerful forelimbs, armed with robust curved claws up to 7 centimetres long, make it an impressive excavator.
Burrow entrances are typically 25 to 35 centimetres wide — just large enough for the animal to squeeze through while curled slightly. Burrow depth is remarkable: individuals have been recorded excavating tunnels reaching 6 metres below the surface, with branching side chambers used for resting. Deep burrows provide thermal buffering in the extreme heat of Indian summers and the cold of Himalayan foothills winters.
Indian pangolins are not permanently tied to a single burrow. Individuals in radio-tracking studies have been recorded using multiple burrow sites across a home range that can span several square kilometres. They rotate between burrows over days or weeks, likely as a predator-avoidance strategy — a resting site used repeatedly becomes a predictable location that tigers, leopards, and dholes can stake out.
Like all pangolins, the Indian pangolin is an obligate myrmecophage — it feeds exclusively on ants and termites. Field studies using scat analysis and camera trap footage have identified dozens of ant and termite species in the Indian pangolin's diet, with preferences varying by season, elevation, and the vegetation community present.
Foraging occurs nocturnally. The pangolin emerges after dark and uses its highly developed sense of smell to locate ant trails and termite mounds. Once a colony is located, the animal tears open the mound or log with its claws, inserts its thin, extensible tongue — which can reach 40 centimetres in length — and sweeps up insects at high speed. A single foraging bout can involve visiting dozens of separate colonies, and an adult Indian pangolin may consume several hundred grams of insects each night.
The species lacks teeth entirely. Insects swallowed whole pass to the muscular gizzard, where small stones the pangolin deliberately ingests help grind them down — a system functionally analogous to the gizzard of a bird.
The Indian pangolin faces a convergence of threats that have driven significant population declines across its range. Poaching is the most acute: scales are in demand for traditional medicine in China and Vietnam, and pangolin meat is consumed locally in parts of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. India is a major source country for pangolin scales entering international wildlife trafficking networks, with large seizures recorded annually at major ports and border crossings.
Habitat loss is the second major driver. Agricultural expansion, infrastructure development, and urbanisation across South Asia have eliminated large areas of pangolin habitat over the past half-century. The fragmentation of remaining forest patches isolates pangolin populations, reduces genetic connectivity, and increases the edge-to-interior ratio of forest — meaning a greater proportion of habitat is exposed to human disturbance.
Additionally, road traffic is an under-appreciated but locally significant mortality cause. Pangolins crossing roads at night are slow-moving and may roll into a defensive ball when startled by vehicle headlights, making them highly vulnerable to being struck.
The Indian pangolin was uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2019, reflecting a reassessment of population trends and an acknowledgement that declines were steeper than previously estimated. The species is listed on CITES Appendix I, prohibiting international commercial trade. In India, it receives Schedule I protection under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 — the same status as tigers and elephants — meaning any killing, poaching, or trade carries severe penalties.
Despite this legal framework, enforcement remains inconsistent across India's vast territory. Wildlife crime units have made significant seizures in states including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal, but poaching continues. Several NGOs including Wildlife SOS and WWF India operate pangolin-specific monitoring and awareness programmes, and camera trap surveys have begun to build the first systematic population data for the species.
India's network of tiger reserves and national parks provides some of the most secure habitat for Indian pangolins. Areas such as Kanha, Pench, Tadoba-Andhari, and Simlipal hold confirmed pangolin populations. The presence of well-resourced forest departments in these reserves — motivated primarily by tiger conservation — provides incidental protection for pangolins as well.
Sri Lanka's dry zone protected areas, including Wilpattu and Yala national parks, are similarly important. Sri Lanka is thought to hold a proportionally dense pangolin population relative to available habitat, and the island's smaller geographic footprint makes targeted conservation action more tractable.
The Indian pangolin is a habitat generalist. It occupies tropical and subtropical forests, dry scrublands, grasslands, rocky hillsides, and even agricultural land near forest edges. It can thrive from sea level up to about 2,000 metres elevation, provided the soil is soft enough for burrowing and ant or termite colonies are present.
The Indian pangolin occurs across a broad range in South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Afghanistan. In India it is found across most of the subcontinent south of the Himalayas, though it has disappeared from many heavily populated areas.
Yes. The Indian pangolin is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Poaching for its scales and meat, combined with significant habitat loss from agriculture and urbanisation, has driven steep population declines. It is protected under Schedule I of India's Wildlife Protection Act 1972, which provides the highest level of legal protection.
Indian pangolins are powerful diggers. Their burrows can reach depths of 6 metres or more, often dug into termite mounds, ant colonies, or compacted soil. They use the same burrow repeatedly and the tunnel system may branch into multiple chambers used for resting and raising young.
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