Pangolin Sightings in Africa: ever seen a pangolin?
โIn an effort to support the work of our conservation partners across Africa, weโre encouraging all wildlife enthusiasts to record their historical and live sightings of pangolins in the wild, to help gather data on population numbers and distribution. Here are some of the amazing sightings weโve received since launching this initiative in August 2018.
Georges Chevalet spotted this beautiful Temminckโs Ground Pangolin on the side of the road while travelling through Botswana earlier this year.
โWe stopped and he was not really afraid of us. We took pictures and kept an eye on it not crossing the tar road, before it went back into the bush.โ
Michael Herscott caught the tail end of this guy in Namibia
โWhile tracking cheetah on foot in a reserve we game across this massive pangolin. Such an amazing sighting.โ
Remarkably, Nico Davin spotted this very well camouflaged pangolin in a very lush Kruger National Park
This pangolin โposedโ long for Veronica de Bruyn to get a shot
โTravelling near the Kgalagadi in the Northern Cape I was lucky enough to see a pangolin crossing the road. I had a couple of minutes to take some cell phone pictures before he moved into the dunes.โ
This is the second lucky sighting weโve received from Paul Bartho โ this time in Mpumalanga, South Africa
โWhile travelling in Kruger in December we saw a large pangolin. It crossed the main road in front of us.โ
Marius Badenhorst spotted this pangolin while travelling in the Northern Cape, South Africa
โIt was crossing the road while I was overtaking another vehicle. Luckily, I was able to swerve and didnโt hit it. I turned around to see if it was okay, and to take photos because I know that you donโt see something like this every day. Another vehicle also stopped to have a look. The passengers then phoned friends advising them how good pangolin meat is to eat. I tried to explain how endangered they are. Luckily, I convinced them not to take the pangolin after it scared them by unrolling itself when they picked it up. I waited until it disappeared in the veld.โ
Jenni Cherry enjoyed this special sighting while out on a game drive in a reserve in South Africa. While it may not be the sharpest shot, full marks to Jenni for spotting this guy and getting the pic before he scuttled off!
โWe had a great close sighting of a pangolin which was just amazing. He was walking around the bush. Great seeing it in action.โ
Barbara Ward from Canada spotted this well-camouflaged pangolin while on holiday in Mpumalanga
โWe were driving back from the [withheld] and spotted the pangolin crossing the road. I was so excited that I wasn’t fast enough to get a good photo. Superb experience and one I will remember!โ
Deon de Villiers has shared his โdouble encounterโ with a very lucky pangolin while in the bush in South Africa.
โIt must have been mid-morning when the radio crackled to life, and I faintly heard the word pangolin in an otherwise distorted message. I quickly jumped into action to find out what the issue was and where the pangolin was; if anyโฆ The unfortunate animal had become lodged in the boundary fence on the eastern side of the [withheld]Reserve, and that wasnโt far from me. Luckily it escaped all electric strands and was in good health. Racing to the scene with a few fellow guides we obtained the animal for relocation. Curled up to protect itself, a few of us prepared from a quick shot as it instinctively would unfold itself for a getaway. A little guesswork as to where the head will be for the best image, and we were all set. A minute or two passed, and quickly and confidently it unrolled and scuttled off into the bush allowing us a quick image or two; what would turn out to be my only pangolin shots ever, and which have been used by World Bank, African newspapers and conservation and non-profits around the globe. It was two years later, and I was doing a walking safari in the south of [withheld] Reserve with one guest only. About fifty meters ahead of me I saw something scuttle across the path. A burst of speed and we caught up to the pangolin which we managed to follow for a few minutes on foot. It turns out when I compared images of the second pangolin to the one from two years before, it seemed to be the same animal. The second location was at least 10 kilometres away from where we did the first release.โ