2010-2020年中华穿山甲在中国的发现记录及保护现状

中国是中华穿山甲(Manis pentadactyla)历史分布区面积和野生种群数量最大的国家。中华穿山甲曾广泛见于我国长江以南各省, 但20世纪中期以来, 由于其甲片被作为贵重的中药材原料, 加之地下野味市场的需求, 大量非法捕猎使得我国野生穿山甲经历了剧烈的分布区缩减和种群下降。目前, 中华穿山甲已被列为我国一级重点保护野生动物, 在IUCN红色名录中被评估为极危(CR)等级。中华穿山甲分布范围广、种群密度低、活动隐秘、调查难度大, 摸清其野外分布现状是当前穿山甲研究与保护中的首要任务。为此, 本研究通过检索2010-2020年间全国范围内中华穿山甲的发现记录, 统计中华穿山甲的目击数量、空间分布以及后续状态, 制作物种分布地图, 并与历史分布情况进行对比, 以评估其野生种群的分布现状与分布区变化。2010-2020年共在11个省级行政区收集到中华穿山甲确认记录142条, 主要集中于大陆华东地区及台湾岛, 台湾、浙江、广东三省记录位点数占全部位点数的67.6%; 相较其历史分布区, 西南、华南地区近年来野外确认较为匮乏。近10年来我国的中华穿山甲记录呈逐渐增多趋势, 86%被发现的实体穿山甲得到救助、放归或未被干扰。本研究结果表明, 目前中华穿山甲在我国, 尤其是华东及台湾地区, 仍具有一定数量的野生种群分布, 且近年来民众对于穿山甲的认知和保护意识有了较大提高。 然而, 现有调查和资料仍不足以对该物种进行全面的现状评估, 亟需加强对我国野生穿山甲种群的调查、监测和保护。

Distribution records and conservation status of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in China during 2010-2020

Aims: China has the largest historical distribution area and wild population of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), which was once widespread, occurring in most provinces south of the Yangtze River in China. However, body parts of Chinese pangolin have been long considered as valuable materials of traditional Chinese medicine and there are also high demands for them as bush meat in the black market. Therefore, since the mid-20th century, wild pangolins in China have experienced dramatic range reduction and population decline due to high pressure of unsustainable, mostly illegal hunting. At present, Chinese pangolin has been recently uplisted as Class-I National Key Protected Wildlife in China and assessed as critically endangered (CR) in the IUCN Red List. As a widely distributed but elusive mammal species that inhabits in dense forests and is naturally at low density, Chinese pangolins are challenging wildlife for researchers to investigate. Therefore, there is an urgent need for researchers and conservationists to determine their distribution in the wild, which will provide fundamental bases for further research and conservation activities. Methods: In this study, we conducted a comprehensive literature research on the occurrence records of Chinese pangolins between 2010 and 2020. We retrieved information from various sources on the time, location and type of record of each event, and generated the occurrence map and compared it with the historical range. Results: Between 2010 and 2020, we identified 142 confirmed records of Chinese pangolins from 11 provincial administrative regions, mainly distributed in East China and Taiwan Island, with 67.6% of the occurrence sites were from three provinces (i.e., Taiwan, Zhejiang and Guangdong) across this region. When compared with its historical range, few field records were reported in Southwest and South China. However, during the past decade, the annual number of Chinese pangolins records has been gradually increasing, with 86% of found individuals being rescued, released on site or undisturbed. Conclusions: These results indicated that wild populations of Chinese pangolin still persist in China, especially in East China and Taiwan Island. Public awareness of pangolin protection in recent years has been greatly improved. However, the existing surveys and data are insufficient to conduct comprehensive assessment of the status of pangolins in China, and there is an urgent need of field investigation, systematic monitoring and strengthened protection on these wild populations. The results of this study updated our knowledge on the distribution status of Chinese pangolins in China, and will provide essential baseline and information for future conservation planning and further study of this species.