Author(s)

David Kambale Malimbo¹, Jonas Kambale Nyumu^1,2,3, Kasereka Vitekere^1,4, Joël Mapoli¹, Benzeth Visando¹, Juakaly Mbumba³, Guy Crispin Tungaluna³, Francis Tarla^2*, Yan Hua^5*

¹Department of Ecology and Management of Animal Resources, Kasugho University of Nature Conservation and Development, Goma, DRC.
²MENTOR-POP (Progress on Pangolin), Zoological Society of London (ZSL-Cameroon), Yaounde, Cameroon.
³Department of Ecology and Management of Animal Resources, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kisangani, Kisangani, DRC.
⁴College of Wildlife and Protected Areas, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.
⁵Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, China.

Pangolin exploitation has recently increased in diverse forms such as bushmeat consumption; species or parts trade, medical use. This species is protected in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and worldwide, unfortunately it is threatened by numerous human actions. The purpose of this study was to determine the profiles of actors using pangolins, the reasons for pangolin exploitation and its products and their use within the local community in and surrounding the reserve. We carried out surveys in the households of hunters, farmers and people practicing other professions in 12 villages, located within the Tayna Nature Reserve (RNT) and surroundings areas. Two interview techniques were used: the individual interview and the participatory diagnostic technique. During one month of data collection, 175 respondents were interviewed. Respondents had diverse profiles according to sex, age, education level and ethnicity. Men were more represented as actors in pangolin exploitation (71.70%) than women (28.30%); the most represented age interval was 20 - 30 years. The education level is distinct amongst respondents: illiterate (37%), primary school (32.4%) and graduate from university (2.9%). An average number of respondents are motivated to consume pangolin as meat obtained by hunting at 50%. The main reason for its consumption is preference (44%) and habit (33%). The scales are pangolin derivatives most recognized by local people and widely used in the pharmacopoeia. Consequently, pangolin protection needs some rigorous measures to reinforce the current law implementation.

Pangolin, Derivative Products, Local Community Exploitation, Traditional Medicine and Tayna Nature Reserve

Malimbo, D. , Nyumu, J. , Vitekere, K. , Mapoli, J. , Visando, B. , Mbumba, J. , Tungaluna, G. , Tarla, F. and Hua, Y. (2020) Exploitation of Pangolins (Pholidota, Mammalia) by Communities Living in and around the Tayna Nature Reserve (RNT) North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 8, 1-17. doi: 10.4236/gep.2020.84001.