A study authored by a team of pangolin experts from the Guangxi Forestry Research Institute has provided new insight into the mating behavior of the Malayan Pangolin, and it is likely to contribute to the development of scientific conservation measures to improve the reproductive capacity of this critically endangered species.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The surveillance footage, which documented 360 mating events between six males and 24 females over the course of six years from 2016 to 2022, has shown that male pangolins would not engage in any complex form of courtship behavior prior to sexual intercourse which took place predominantly in two time periods (7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.).

Researchers have also found that once the males opted to make the attempt from one side (left or right), they would keep on approaching their intended partners from the same side.

This phenomenon among these mysterious mammals has indicated, for the first time, that male pangolins in captivity have a preferred mating position, according to Yan Dingyu, an associate researcher with the Guangxi Forestry Research Institute and the lead author of the paper.

Chinese scientists have tackled the difficulties of the captive breeding of critically endangered Malayan pangolins to the third filial generation.

Yan and his team have been breeding and observing 33 wild Malayan pangolins and 49 captive-born offspring since 2016, and they have recorded the reproductive biological characteristics of the species.

Pangolins are an important species that influence the structure, function, and health of forest ecosystems. Due to excessive hunting and habitat loss, wild stocks of pangolins once plummeted sharply. Captive breeding has thus become a hopeful means to protect the species from extinction.

The Guangxi Forestry Research Institute has begun building a new pangolin center, which will include an imitation natural enclosure, a wild training ground, a physiological laboratory, and other facilities to provide support for further research.

"The wheels of improving their living conditions have been set in motion", said Yan, and those changes are expected to be instrumental in providing support for further research.

China has upgraded its protection of pangolins to the highest level and intensified a crackdown on harmful actions such as illegal hunting and trading to better protect the species.

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