Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (<i>Manis pentadactyla</i>) Continue in Nepal

Tulshi Laxmi Suwal; Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11

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Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal

Tulshi Laxmi Suwal, Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei

Published in American Journal of Zoology (Volume 3, Issue 2)

Received: 17 June 2020 Accepted: 9 July 2020 Published: 23 July 2020

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Abstract

Covid-19 pandemic lockdown started from 24 March 2020 in Nepal. The coronavirus found in pangolins and bats are said to be mostly resembling to Covid-19. However, conservation stakeholders and local community were involved in rescue and release of the confiscated Chinese pangolin during this pandemic. Information was collated through personal communication, self-involvement and media reports to assess the background of rescued and released pangolins, precautionary and impact of handling under this situation. Altogether, six Chinese pangolins were rescued from Province 1 (n=2), Province 3 (n=3) and Province 4 (n=1) in the month of May and June. Five individuals were confiscated from the area in the vicinity of homes whereas one was rescued from corn farm in Nepal-India border. Within 15-48 hours, the rescued pangolins were released back into the community forests. All rescued individuals were adult, male, estimated weighing of 3-5kg and 80-90cm in length. 84 persons including forest office staffs (15.5%), security personnel (22.6%), journalists (6.0%), members of community forest user groups (26.2%) and local community (29.8%) were involved in rescuing, transforming and releasing. However, 22 persons (26.2%) handled the pangolins properly and taking safety precautions such as wore masks, gloves and washed their hands before and after handling. Others 62 person (73.8%) who were involved in rescue and release without taking safety precautions also did not show any symptoms of Covid-19, in 14 days and more after their contact with pangolins. Most of the participants (95.2%) were still positive towards pangolins conservation in post-Covid and accepted that the precautionary measures were required to protect from zoonotic diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the level of awareness amongst local community, CFUG members, security personnels and forest office staffs on zoonotic disease, their transmission and impact for the protection of animal and people.

Published in	American Journal of Zoology (Volume 3, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11
Page(s)	35-39
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Covid-19, Chinese Pangolin, Conservation Stakeholders, Handling, Safety Precautions

References

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[9]	DNPWC and DoF, Pangolin Conservation Action Plan for Nepal (2018-2022). Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and Department of Forests, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, 2018.
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[15]	Kantipur, May 16, 2020. Found the pangolin in Kakadvita, Nepal-India border Dhasgaja. https://ekantipur.com/pradesh-1/2020/05/16/158961668330458636.html.
[16]	Sabahak, June 12, 2020. The confiscated Critically Endangered pangolin was releases in Taudolchhap CF, Bhaktapur. https://sambahak.com/2020/06/12.
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APA Style

Tulshi Laxmi Suwal, Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei. (2020). Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal. American Journal of Zoology, 3(2), 35-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11

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Tulshi Laxmi Suwal; Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei. Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal. Am. J. Zool. 2020, 3(2), 35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11

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AMA Style

Tulshi Laxmi Suwal, Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei. Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal. Am J Zool. 2020;3(2):35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11,
  author = {Tulshi Laxmi Suwal and Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei},
  title = {Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal},
  journal = {American Journal of Zoology},
  volume = {3},
  number = {2},
  pages = {35-39},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajz.20200302.11},
  abstract = {Covid-19 pandemic lockdown started from 24 March 2020 in Nepal. The coronavirus found in pangolins and bats are said to be mostly resembling to Covid-19. However, conservation stakeholders and local community were involved in rescue and release of the confiscated Chinese pangolin during this pandemic. Information was collated through personal communication, self-involvement and media reports to assess the background of rescued and released pangolins, precautionary and impact of handling under this situation. Altogether, six Chinese pangolins were rescued from Province 1 (n=2), Province 3 (n=3) and Province 4 (n=1) in the month of May and June. Five individuals were confiscated from the area in the vicinity of homes whereas one was rescued from corn farm in Nepal-India border. Within 15-48 hours, the rescued pangolins were released back into the community forests. All rescued individuals were adult, male, estimated weighing of 3-5kg and 80-90cm in length. 84 persons including forest office staffs (15.5%), security personnel (22.6%), journalists (6.0%), members of community forest user groups (26.2%) and local community (29.8%) were involved in rescuing, transforming and releasing. However, 22 persons (26.2%) handled the pangolins properly and taking safety precautions such as wore masks, gloves and washed their hands before and after handling. Others 62 person (73.8%) who were involved in rescue and release without taking safety precautions also did not show any symptoms of Covid-19, in 14 days and more after their contact with pangolins. Most of the participants (95.2%) were still positive towards pangolins conservation in post-Covid and accepted that the precautionary measures were required to protect from zoonotic diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the level of awareness amongst local community, CFUG members, security personnels and forest office staffs on zoonotic disease, their transmission and impact for the protection of animal and people.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal
AU - Tulshi Laxmi Suwal
AU - Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei
Y1 - 2020/07/23
PY - 2020
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11
DO - 10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11
T2 - American Journal of Zoology
JF - American Journal of Zoology
JO - American Journal of Zoology
SP - 35
EP - 39
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2994-7413
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11
AB - Covid-19 pandemic lockdown started from 24 March 2020 in Nepal. The coronavirus found in pangolins and bats are said to be mostly resembling to Covid-19. However, conservation stakeholders and local community were involved in rescue and release of the confiscated Chinese pangolin during this pandemic. Information was collated through personal communication, self-involvement and media reports to assess the background of rescued and released pangolins, precautionary and impact of handling under this situation. Altogether, six Chinese pangolins were rescued from Province 1 (n=2), Province 3 (n=3) and Province 4 (n=1) in the month of May and June. Five individuals were confiscated from the area in the vicinity of homes whereas one was rescued from corn farm in Nepal-India border. Within 15-48 hours, the rescued pangolins were released back into the community forests. All rescued individuals were adult, male, estimated weighing of 3-5kg and 80-90cm in length. 84 persons including forest office staffs (15.5%), security personnel (22.6%), journalists (6.0%), members of community forest user groups (26.2%) and local community (29.8%) were involved in rescuing, transforming and releasing. However, 22 persons (26.2%) handled the pangolins properly and taking safety precautions such as wore masks, gloves and washed their hands before and after handling. Others 62 person (73.8%) who were involved in rescue and release without taking safety precautions also did not show any symptoms of Covid-19, in 14 days and more after their contact with pangolins. Most of the participants (95.2%) were still positive towards pangolins conservation in post-Covid and accepted that the precautionary measures were required to protect from zoonotic diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the level of awareness amongst local community, CFUG members, security personnels and forest office staffs on zoonotic disease, their transmission and impact for the protection of animal and people.
VL - 3
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

Tulshi Laxmi Suwal

Department of Tropical Agricultural and International Cooperation, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan
Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei

Institute of Wildlife Conservation, College of veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan

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Tulshi Laxmi Suwal, Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei. (2020). Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal. American Journal of Zoology, 3(2), 35-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11

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ACS Style

Tulshi Laxmi Suwal; Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei. Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal. Am. J. Zool. 2020, 3(2), 35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11

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AMA Style

Tulshi Laxmi Suwal, Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei. Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal. Am J Zool. 2020;3(2):35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11,
  author = {Tulshi Laxmi Suwal and Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei},
  title = {Coronaviruses Pandemic: Rescue and Release of the Confiscated Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Continue in Nepal},
  journal = {American Journal of Zoology},
  volume = {3},
  number = {2},
  pages = {35-39},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20200302.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajz.20200302.11},
  abstract = {Covid-19 pandemic lockdown started from 24 March 2020 in Nepal. The coronavirus found in pangolins and bats are said to be mostly resembling to Covid-19. However, conservation stakeholders and local community were involved in rescue and release of the confiscated Chinese pangolin during this pandemic. Information was collated through personal communication, self-involvement and media reports to assess the background of rescued and released pangolins, precautionary and impact of handling under this situation. Altogether, six Chinese pangolins were rescued from Province 1 (n=2), Province 3 (n=3) and Province 4 (n=1) in the month of May and June. Five individuals were confiscated from the area in the vicinity of homes whereas one was rescued from corn farm in Nepal-India border. Within 15-48 hours, the rescued pangolins were released back into the community forests. All rescued individuals were adult, male, estimated weighing of 3-5kg and 80-90cm in length. 84 persons including forest office staffs (15.5%), security personnel (22.6%), journalists (6.0%), members of community forest user groups (26.2%) and local community (29.8%) were involved in rescuing, transforming and releasing. However, 22 persons (26.2%) handled the pangolins properly and taking safety precautions such as wore masks, gloves and washed their hands before and after handling. Others 62 person (73.8%) who were involved in rescue and release without taking safety precautions also did not show any symptoms of Covid-19, in 14 days and more after their contact with pangolins. Most of the participants (95.2%) were still positive towards pangolins conservation in post-Covid and accepted that the precautionary measures were required to protect from zoonotic diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the level of awareness amongst local community, CFUG members, security personnels and forest office staffs on zoonotic disease, their transmission and impact for the protection of animal and people.},
 year = {2020}
}

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