World Pangolin Day Celebration

Pangolin is a mammal covered in scales without teeth and located in Asia and Africa. It has a long snout and a long tongue which it uses to feed on ants and termites. Researches indicate this animal is going extinct and so efforts are being made by conservatory institutions to proclaim the conservation of these animals. 

World Pangolin Day is a day set aside to blow the trumpet for the conservation of pangolins and it is celebrated on the third Saturday of February. On Saturday 18th February, 2023 World Pangolin Day was celebrated in KNUST- Kumasi at the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources. The ceremony was characterized by the following activities:

• presentation on pangolin conservation
• pangolin and disease transmission
• display or artworks
• quiz competition
• spoken word
• presentations of awards

The theme for the year 2023's celebration was, 'Scaling up pangolin conservation in Ghana'. There are eight species of pangolin and four out of the eight are found in Africa. In Ghana, three out of these species can be found which are:

1. Giant ground pangolin
2. Black-bellied pangolin
3. White-bellied pangolin

This year's celebration held in Kumasi had a collaboration with all necessary institutions like the institute of Nature and Environmental Conservation (INEC), and Kumasi zoo. From the presentation on pangolin conservation, it was clear that many people use the scales of pangolins for different medicinal purposes and its meat is also a source of food making it an animal of value. Some of the medicinal benefits said about the animal are not proven scientifically but still people still engage in poaching these vulnerable creatures. Because of its nature, the animal has been said to be going extinct hence many regulatory actions are in place to conserve it because the animal itself is defenseless against poachers, etc.  

Students from different departments produced artworks, like a pencil drawings, digital illustrations, paintings, and even paper art. Contestants who produced the artworks were given the chance to talk about their works in order to explain how it can be used to drive awareness about pangolin conservation. Three people were presented with awards at the end of the display of the artworks and these were the people who came our first, second and third. 

Pangolin conservation artwork. This work shows a hand in red that depicts people who poach the animals and a hand holding a hand coffcuff that describes measures and actions to scale up the conservation of pangolins.

The quiz competition was an enlightening one in that students from three different departments had two representatives each who answered questions about pangolins and other necessary matters in conservation. After this an award was given to the winners as well of the quiz section.

The main focus of this event is to make everyone know that pangolins have been classified as animals that may go extinct if not conserved and so everyone is expected to play their part to conserve this animal.