Pangolin Oil and Fat in Traditional Medicine: Southern African Beliefs and Conservation Impact
Published: 30 June 2026 | Category: Traditional Use and Conservation
When most people discuss the threat to pangolins, the conversation quickly turns to illegal trafficking networks, Asian demand for scales, and international criminal syndicates. These are real and severe threats. But in southern Africa, there is another dimension to pangolin vulnerability that receives less attention: the longstanding use of pangolin fat and oil within local traditional medicine and spiritual practice.
Understanding this dimension of pangolin use requires engaging seriously with cultural context, historical practice, and the real-world impact of local demand on wild populations. It also requires honesty about the absence of scientific support for pangolin-derived remedies, and sensitivity in how that message is communicated to communities whose traditional knowledge systems deserve respect.
The Ground Pangolin in Southern African Culture
The Temminck's ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) is the pangolin species found across southern and eastern Africa, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, and Namibia. It occupies a complex place in the cultural landscape of these regions. In some communities, the pangolin is regarded with deep reverence and is associated with rain, fertility, and good fortune. Historical accounts from several cultures across the region describe pangolins as sacred animals whose killing carries spiritual significance.
This reverence, paradoxically, has sometimes contributed to demand rather than protection. In some traditions, the very power attributed to a pangolin makes its body parts highly desirable for medicine and ritual. The animal's unusual appearance, its secretive nature, and its rarity all contribute to an aura that traditional practitioners have historically associated with potency.
Documented Uses of Pangolin Fat and Oil
Ethnobotanical and ethnozoological research conducted across southern Africa has documented a range of traditional uses attributed to pangolin fat and oil. These uses vary by region, ethnic group, and individual practitioner, and not all traditional healers recognise or endorse them. The following represents a synthesis of what has been recorded in peer-reviewed research and conservation assessments.
Skin Conditions and Wound Healing
Pangolin fat rendered from the subcutaneous tissue of the animal is used in some communities as a topical treatment for skin conditions including eczema, psoriasis, and generalised dry skin. It is applied directly to affected areas or mixed with other plant materials into a compound ointment. Some practitioners describe it as useful for healing slow-recovering wounds.
The logic behind this use is rooted in the pangolin's own biology: the animal produces oils that condition its scales and skin, and this has been interpreted by traditional practitioners as evidence of natural healing properties. However, no laboratory analysis of ground pangolin fat has identified compounds that would be pharmacologically active in treating any skin condition.
Joint Pain and Rheumatism
In parts of South Africa and Zimbabwe, pangolin fat is used as a treatment for joint pain, arthritis, and rheumatic conditions. It may be rubbed onto joints, ingested in small quantities, or incorporated into mixtures that are applied with heat. Elderly community members in some areas report using pangolin fat in the same way that others might use commercially available analgesic creams.
Scientific perspective: Pangolin fat is primarily composed of triglycerides, similar in composition to the fat of other mammals. No unique anti-inflammatory compounds have been identified. Any perceived benefit is likely attributable to the warming massage applied during use, the placebo effect, or other ingredients in compound preparations.
Spiritual and Ritual Use
Beyond medicinal applications, pangolin fat and oil are used in spiritual contexts in some communities. This can include use as a protective anointing, as part of rituals associated with hunting success, or in ceremonies conducted by traditional leaders and healers. In these contexts, the value of the pangolin is not primarily pharmacological but symbolic. The rarity and perceived power of the animal imbue its products with spiritual significance that substitutes cannot easily replicate.
This dimension of use is particularly challenging for conservation messaging, because it operates outside the framework of evidence-based medicine entirely. Engaging with spiritual use requires cultural humility and partnership with religious and traditional leaders rather than straightforward scientific argument.
The Conservation Impact of Local Traditional Demand
Local traditional demand for pangolin body parts in southern Africa has historically been treated as a secondary issue compared to international trafficking. However, research published in recent years has drawn attention to the significant contribution of local markets to overall poaching pressure on ground pangolin populations.
A pangolin killed for local traditional use represents the same loss to the wild population as one killed for export. In some cases, the same supply network serves both markets: a pangolin captured by a local poacher may be sold partly to local traditional medicine practitioners and partly to international trafficking brokers, depending on which parts are most valuable to each buyer.
The Muthi Market in South Africa
South Africa's informal traditional medicine trade, known as the muthi market, is extensive. Major markets operate in Johannesburg, Durban, and other cities, with thousands of traders selling a wide range of plant and animal-derived products. Wildlife researchers and law enforcement have documented pangolin parts appearing in these markets, including scales, fat, and whole dried animals.
The Faraday Market in Johannesburg and the Warwick Market in Durban have been the subject of multiple studies examining the prevalence of pangolin materials. Results confirm that pangolin-derived products are sold, though their presence fluctuates and vendors may be cautious about displaying illegal items openly.
Legal context: The ground pangolin is fully protected under South African law. Its possession, sale, and use are prohibited under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA). Traditional or spiritual use does not constitute a legal exemption. Enforcement within muthi markets is challenging but has increased in recent years.
Conservation Responses to Traditional Demand
Engaging Traditional Healers
Several conservation organisations working in southern Africa have recognised that enforcement alone is insufficient to address traditional demand for pangolin products. Community-based programmes seek to engage directly with traditional healers, explaining the scale of pangolin population decline and working collaboratively to identify alternatives.
This approach is grounded in respect for traditional medical systems. Rather than dismissing traditional knowledge, conservation practitioners present ecological information and invite healers to consider the long-term implications of continued use. Some healers have responded positively, particularly when they understand that pangolin populations are genuinely at risk of local extinction.
Identifying Plant-Based Alternatives
Ethnobotanists working with conservation partners have begun exploring whether plant-based materials can be identified that traditional practitioners would consider acceptable substitutes for pangolin-derived products. This work is in its early stages and requires careful engagement to ensure that proposed alternatives are culturally credible and practically accessible.
Similar approaches have been used with some success in addressing traditional demand for other protected species in sub-Saharan Africa, and there is reason for cautious optimism that they can contribute to reducing pangolin use over time.
Education and Community Ownership
Education programmes targeting both urban muthi consumers and rural communities where pangolins are caught have expanded awareness of pangolin vulnerability. Young people in particular have shown openness to changing practices when they understand the ecological stakes. Community ownership of pangolin conservation, reinforced through ranger programmes and direct economic benefits from wildlife tourism, also reduces social tolerance for poaching and illegal trade.
"The pangolin has always been respected in our culture. What we are losing is not just an animal but something that belongs to the land and to us. We do not want to be the generation that ended it." — Traditional community leader, Limpopo Province
Balancing Cultural Respect and Conservation Urgency
The use of pangolin fat and oil in traditional medicine is a sensitive topic that requires careful handling by conservation communicators. Dismissing or criminalising cultural practice without engagement generates resistance and drives demand underground where it is harder to address. At the same time, the conservation urgency is real: ground pangolin populations cannot sustain continued offtake for either local or international markets.
The most effective path forward is one that honours the cultural significance of the pangolin, engages traditional leaders as conservation allies, provides credible alternatives, and reinforces legal frameworks with community support rather than external enforcement alone.
Understanding why pangolin fat and oil are valued in southern African communities is not an endorsement of their use. It is a necessary step toward replacing that use with something that serves both people and pangolins better.