On January 21, 2025, a camera trap in a tiny forest in eastern Nepal captured something scientists had barely documented before: a male Chinese pangolin, one of the world's most elusive and critically endangered mammals, moving through the darkness. The discovery in Panchakanya Community Forest—a sacred patch of woodland spanning just 0.56 square kilometers in Sunsari district—marks the first video evidence of this species in eastern Nepal and underscores a quiet truth: even small, fragmented forests can harbor irreplaceable life.
The Chinese pangolin has become a shadow species across its range. Listed as critically endangered by the IUCN and protected under Nepalese law, it faces relentless pressure from habitat loss and poaching. While the species exists across Nepal, verified sightings in the eastern regions remain frustratingly rare, leaving a blind spot in conservation efforts. Every confirmed population—especially those living outside official protected areas where oversight is thin—becomes crucial evidence that recovery is possible.
Tujin Rai, a researcher at Tribhuvan University leading the study, and his colleagues installed camera traps along forest trails and near freshly dug burrows in January 2025, hoping to confirm earlier signs. Local herders and researchers had previously found indirect evidence: burrows and footprints scattered through Panchakanya. But video proof eluded them until that January night. Beyond the single confirmed individual captured on film, the team documented nearly 30 pangolin burrows and associated signs during field surveys, concentrated in areas rich with ant and termite colonies—the pangolin's preferred meal. This abundance of burrows suggests the forest likely shelters more than one pangolin, though Rai emphasized that only one individual has been definitively confirmed so far. Longer-term monitoring will be needed to understand the true population size and how these secretive animals move through the landscape.
What makes Panchakanya remarkable is its vulnerability. The forest sits hemmed in by villages, agricultural land, roads, and the Sewti River—a patchwork that would seem hostile to wildlife. Yet it persists, protected by two forces that often save forests where governments cannot: local tradition and community stewardship. A temple within Panchakanya, revered by nearby communities, has afforded the forest a measure of spiritual protection. The community forest user group has also established guidelines regulating fuelwood collection, livestock grazing, and other activities that could damage the ecosystem. These rules matter. Yet they remain fragile. Mushroom collection, fuelwood harvesting, and religious gatherings still leave their mark on the forest—manageable impacts so far, but requiring constant vigilance.
Kumar Paudel, a pangolin specialist with Greenhood Nepal, emphasized that community forests like Panchakanya face threats that protected areas do not. "Communities can help reduce poaching and prioritise not disturbing pangolin habitats while doing other forest management or development activities," he told researchers. The implication is clear: conservation here depends not on fences and rangers, but on the daily choices of people living alongside the forest.
Rai's discovery carries a message for conservation worldwide. Panchakanya proves that small, locally protected forests—far from the spotlight and untouched by formal conservation status—can become refuges for species on the edge of extinction. The challenge now is ensuring that communities have the knowledge and support to keep protecting them. The pangolin caught on camera on that January night represents not just a individual animal, but a second chance for a species running out of them.