#10Guardians: Jackson Poghisio, the Pangolin Guardian
Pangolin captured in Pellow Community Conservancy, West Pokot. Photo: Titus Parklea.
Believed to be the world's most trafficked mammal, the pangolin accounts for up to 20% of all illegal wildlife trading.
Tens of thousands of pangolins are killed every year for their scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine, and their meat, which is a delicacy in China and Vietnam.
Jackson Poghisio, a native of Ketiam Village in West Pokot County, grew up in a community where spotting a pangolin meant either reporting the sighting to the village elders or killing the animal. Jackson only came to see the pangolin in a new light after joining NRT and undergoing NRT’s ranger training.
“When I was recruited as a conservancy ranger, I was taught plenty about the pangolin. My fellow rangers and I realized the animal's value, and that if properly cared for, it could draw tourists to our Conservancy while also benefitting the community,” he explains.
Jackson, now 23, is spearheading pangolin conservation in Pellow Community Conservancy, West Pokot County. Pangolins were said to have disappeared in Pellow, until two recent sightings revealed that a small population may still exist.
Jackson Poghisio, the Pangolin Guardian.
The first sighting occurred in late 2019 when Pellow’s scouts were tipped off on a man from outside the Conservancy who had captured a pangolin and was looking for a potential buyer. The scouts launched an undercover mission to rescue the pangolin. Working with the Kenya Wildlife Service team based in the nearby Nasalot National Reserve, they successfully recovered the pangolin and set it free.
The second sighting was reported by a livestock herder, who came across a pangolin at night while searching for his lost cow.
The two sightings inspired Pellow Community Conservancy to take species-specific conservation measures. As a result, with NRT’s support, Jackson and the other Conservancy rangers studied pangolins' movements and feeding habits and are now well-versed in them.
"If my team and I succeed in protecting the pangolin and ensuring its existence, future generations will be able to see it and not merely learn about it as some sort of mythical creature," says Jackson, determined to save this vulnerable mammal.
A community member carries a pangolin which was found in Pellow Community Conservancy, West Pokot to Nasolot National Park. Photo: Titus Parklea.
Of the eight existing pangolin species, four are found in Asia, and four are in Africa: the Temminck’s Ground pangolin, giant pangolin, white-bellied pangolin, and black-bellied pangolin. The Temminck's Ground pangolin, the only pangolin species found in eastern and southern Africa, has become severely endangered in recent decades due to poaching and trafficking for its meat and scales.
There is widespread support among Pellow Community Conservancy members for a wildlife sanctuary to protect pangolins. The community hopes this will attract tourists and scientists, providing a much-needed source of revenue for the Conservancy.