Operation Pangolin
Researchers are embarking on a bold initiative to save the world’s most trafficked wild mammal — the pangolin.
With core-funding support from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Operation Pangolin launched in February 2023 in Cameroon and Gabon and is working closely with Nigerian stakeholders. Currently, little is known about pangolin natural history or ecology. Even less is known of their role in a significant criminal economy where trafficked pangolins and the illegal sale of their scales and meat often go undetected. They are among the least studied mammals in the world.
Operation Pangolin is capitalizing on the latest advances in technology, interdisciplinary conservation science, big data, and artificial intelligence to generate and unify diverse data sources to inform sustainable and cost-effective solutions to the global biodiversity crisis associated with wildlife crime. The project will synthesize information from wildlife crime, population monitoring, and socio-ecological systems through cutting edge artificial intelligence (AI) analytical pipelines to support: 1) sustainable, socially legitimate, and locally-led conservation interventions, 2) evidence-informed international policy implementation, and 3) predictive tools for addressing wildlife crime. Our framework of enhanced data collection, coordinated data unification, and advanced analysis for informed decision-making can be scaled across species, ecosystems, and geopolitical contexts. By collaborating with local conservation stakeholders, from indigenous peoples and local communities to governments, we are reinforcing the human and technical capacity to manage wildlife populations and their habitats.
Operation Pangolin is a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional and multimillion dollar global initiative operating throughout Africa and Asia through 2026.
“Without urgent conservation action at a global scale, all eight species of pangolins face extinction. Operation Pangolin is a chance to alter the conservation landscape for pangolins and other wildlife threatened by illicit human behavior.”Matthew H. Shirley, conservation ecologist at Florida International University, co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Pangolin Specialist Group and lead researcher for Operation Pangolin
Contacts
Team
- Matthew H. Shirley, Ph.D., Lead PI, Ecological Monitoring, Florida International University
mshirley@fiu.edu
Dr. Shirley is a Conservation Scientist in the Global Forensics and Justice Center at Florida International University in a unique role bridging to FIU’s Institute of Environment. - Daniel Challender, Ph.D., Co-PI, Trade and Policy, University of Oxford
dan.challender@biology.ok.ac.uk - Alasdair Davies, Co-PI, Technological Innovation, Arribada Initiative
alasdair@arribada.org - Bistra Dilkina, Ph.D., Co-PI, Big Data Coalescence, University of Southern California
dilkina@usc.edu - Meredith Gore, Ph.D., Co-PI, Conservation Criminology, University of Maryland
gorem@umd.edu - Carla Louise Mousset Moumbolou, Partner, Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux
moussetcarla.anpn@gmail.com - Andrew Fowler, Partner, Zoological Society of London
Partners
- Florida International University
- University of Oxford
- Arribada Initiative
- University of Southern Californi
- University of Maryland
- Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux
- ZSL (Zoological Society of London)
- IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group
Media Contact
JoAnn C. Adkins, Director of Marketing & Communications
Phone: 305-348-0398
Email: jadkins@fiu.edu
Office: CASE 456
Donate
Pangolins are being trafficked to unsustainable levels. Urgent action is needed to protect all eight species of pangolins. Florida International University researchers are leading an international effort to save the world’s most trafficked wild mammal.
Make a Difference, Invest in the Future
Be part of a global, multidisciplinary effort to save the these evolutionarily distinct and imperiled mammals.
Your contribution may be considered tax deductible, where allowed, to the fullest extent under the law as allowed by IRS regulations. Please consult with your tax adviser on any potential deductions.