A Preliminary Investigation of the Habitat Selection of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in a Tropical Lowland Forest in South-West Sri Lanka

Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is a nocturnal, solitary and illusive mammal whichhas received less scientific attention. M. crassicaudata is listed as Endangered by IUCN andlisted in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ofWild Fauna and Flora (CITES). According to the National Red List (2012) of Sri Lanka, M.crassicaudata is listed under “Near Threatened” and is strictly protected by the Flora andFauna Protection Ordinance of Sri Lanka. Despite its conservation importance, very fewstudies have examined the ecology of Asiatic pangolin species and, there‟s virtually noautecological studies done on M. crassicaudata in Sri Lanka. This lack of reliableinformation has impaired the accurate assessment of their conservation needs. This study investigated the habitat preference and utilisation of Indian pangolins in Yagiralaforest reserve; a tropical lowland forest in southwest Sri Lanka. Four major types of habitatswere identified within the study site; secondary natural forest (SF), Pine-dominated forest(PF), Rubber plantations (RP) and Tea-dominated home gardens (TH). Indian pangolinburrows in search of termites to feed, and rests in underground burrows. Hence, presence ofpangolins can be determined based on such indirect observations. Evidences for pangolinpresence were collected using 50×100 m belt transects laid in each habitat type. Field surveysfrom February to September 2015 recorded 29 pangolin burrows, 35 burrowing marks onground/termite mounds and 9 scratch marks on logs from all habitat types. Habitat PreferenceIndex (HPI) (given by HPI=Sn/A where Sn= total indirect observations of pangolin activityand A= area) was used to determine the intensity of pangolin activity in a specific habitattype. Accordingly the highest preference was for Pine-dominated forest and the ranking ofpreference followed TH~70%)and presence of rock boulders (83%). Key ecological factors influencing the habitat selectionof pangolins were further explored using Cluster Analysis. Keywords: Indian Pangolin, Yagirala Forest, Habitat preferences index, Habitat features