On the mating behaviour of captive Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)

The Indian pangolin, Manis crassicaudata is under serious threat due to hunting for local consumption and for international trade in skins, scales and meat, and to a lesser extent, loss and deterioration of its habitat (Mishra & Panda, 2012; Baillie et al., 2014). This species is listed as „Endangered‟ (Baillie et al., 2014) and included under Appendix II of CITES. Because of their nocturnal, burrowing and secretive nature (Prater, 2005; Mishra & Panda, 2012), information on their biology in the wild is very limited. They are difficult to maintain and rarely breed in captivity. Although several zoos have maintained this species, births in captivity have been reported by very few zoos: Calcutta zoo, (Acharjyo, 2000), Oklahoma zoo (Ogilvie & Bridgwater, 1967), Nandankanan Zoological Park, (Acharjyo & Misra, 1972, Acharjyo & Mohapatra, 1978). Although earlier studies have described nocturnal behaviour and activity pattern of Indian pangolins in captivity (Mishra & Panda, 2010; Mohapatra & Panda, 2013), observations on their mating behaviour are limited mainly because mating is seldom observed. This study reports on mating behaviour observed in captivity.