Fauna Of Padhri Wildlife Reserve

The Indian pangolin or thick-tailed Pangolin is a solitary, shy, slow moving, nocturnal mammal. It is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Though many think of them as reptiles, pangolins are actually mammals. They are the only mammals wholly-covered in scales and they use those scales to protect themselves from predators in the wild. 

The shy, harmless pangolin is becoming increasingly well known for one reason: It’s believed to be the world’s most trafficked non-human mammal. Tens of thousands of pangolins are poached every year, killed for their scales for use in traditional Chinese medicine and for their meat, a delicacy among some ultra-wealthy in China and Vietnam. 

Despite an international ban on their trade.They are trafficked both for their meat, and the unfounded belief that their keratinous scales have medical properties, though this has not been scientifically proven. 

Pangolin skins are processed into leather products like boots, belts, and bags.