This story is part of The Better India’s new wildlife series, Species in Focus: 52 species. 52 stories. 52 reasons to protect India’s wildlife. One species at a time, the series explores India’s rare, endangered and lesser-known wildlife, their habitats, behaviour, ecological roles and conservation status.
On the forested edges of Shillong, a camera trap recorded an animal that is rarely seen, even by those who study wildlife.
Moving through the forest under the cover of darkness was a Chinese pangolin, a critically endangered mammal that has now been documented in the Wildlife Institute of India’s (WII) study area in Meghalaya for the first time.
The sighting is significant for more than the presence of a threatened species. Forests bordering urban areas may appear small compared with protected wilderness, but they can provide vital shelter for animals facing habitat loss and fragmentation.
A rare visitor, recorded on camera
The record emerged from WII’s ongoing project, Assessment of Mammalian Assemblages in Meghalaya, which focuses on the Riat Laban and Laitkor reserve forests along Shillong’s urban edges.
“This rare record comes from our ongoing project,” the institute said, highlighting the first documentation of the Chinese pangolin within its Meghalaya study area.
🌿 A Milestone record on the Fringes of Shillong! 📸✨ Our camera traps have recorded the Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) for the very first time in our study area! 🛡️🐾 This rare record comes from our ongoing project “Assessment of Mammalian Assemblages in Meghalaya”, focusing on the Riat Laban and Laitkor reserve forests right on the urban edges of Shillong. These peri-urban city forests harbor a remarkably unique and diverse assemblage of wildlife. Alongside the Chinese pangolin, our cameras captured iconic species including the Large Indian Civet, Leopard Cat, Masked Palm Civet, Yellow-throated Marten, Indian Crested Porcupine, and Kalij Pheasant. 🌲 Why This Matters: Urban-adjacent and city-fringe forests are often overlooked, yet they act as critical ecological refuges for species threatened by habitat fragmentation and urban development. Finding a Critically Endangered specialist like the Chinese pangolin sharing space with a rich suite of carnivores and small mammals proves that these urban forest patches are invaluable biodiversity strongholds that must be strictly protected and preserved. 👥 @Himalayanwolf1 @lifeofawild @nishinath @supratikroy @meghalayaforest @GobindsagarBha1 @RuchiBadola2
— Wildlife Institute of India (@wii_india) October 20, 2026
The finding is particularly valuable because systematic information about the species’ population and distribution across parts of Northeast India remains limited. Although the Chinese pangolin is known to occur in the region, there is little recent systematic data on its status and numbers.
A camera-trap record does not, by itself, establish how many pangolins live in these forests or whether their population is stable. However, it confirms the species’ presence in the study area and provides researchers with an important starting point for further monitoring.
What makes the Chinese pangolin special?
Pangolins are nocturnal insectivores, meaning they are active mainly at night and feed on insects.
Their bodies are covered in overlapping scales, and when threatened, they curl into a tight ball, using their armoured exterior as protection.
Yet these defences offer little protection against people. Pangolins are widely recognised as the most trafficked mammals in the world, making their survival a major conservation concern.
Forests bordering urban areas may appear small compared with protected wilderness, but they can provide vital shelter for animals facing habitat loss and fragmentation. Photograph: (Wildlife Trust of India)
Of the world’s eight pangolin species, two are found in India: the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata).
The Chinese pangolin is native to parts of the northern Indian subcontinent, northern Southeast Asia and southern China. In India, it occurs across northeastern states and northern West Bengal.
Arunachal Pradesh is considered one of its strongholds.
The species has been listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2014, reflecting its severe risk of extinction in the wild.
Can you tell the two Indian pangolins apart?
Although both species are covered in protective scales, there are some distinguishing features:
Scale size: The Chinese pangolin has smaller scales than the Indian pangolin.
Tail: The Indian pangolin has a terminal scale on the underside of its tail. This scale is absent in the Chinese pangolin.
Scale weight: The dry weight of scales from one Chinese pangolin is roughly 500–700 grams, compared with approximately 1.5–1.8 kg for an Indian pangolin.
These differences can help distinguish the two species, though identifying an animal in the wild requires careful observation.
More than a pangolin
The Chinese pangolin was not the only animal recorded during WII’s camera-trap study.
The institute documented a range of other wildlife in the Riat Laban and Laitkor reserve forests, including the Large Indian Civet, Leopard Cat, Masked Palm Civet, Yellow-throated Marten, Indian Crested Porcupine and Kalij Pheasant.
The presence of several mammals and birds also makes these sites valuable for understanding how different species use habitats close to human settlements.
WII has described these peri-urban forests as harbouring a remarkably unique and diverse assemblage of wildlife.
Why Shillong’s forests matter
Urban forests are often valued for their role in improving the quality of life for people, from providing green spaces to supporting local ecological processes. But their importance also lies in the wildlife they sustain, including species that may otherwise go unnoticed.
“Finding a critically Endangered species like the Chinese pangolin sharing space with a rich suite of carnivores and small mammals proves that these urban forest patches are invaluable biodiversity strongholds that must be strictly protected and preserved,” WII said.
Protecting these forests will require recognising them as wildlife habitats, not simply undeveloped land around a city.
