Investigating the use of sensory information to detect and track prey by the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) with conservation in mind.

ABSTRACT: Pangolins are of conservation concern as one of the most heavily poached, yet least understood mammals. The Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) in particular is a critically endangered species. Here, we investigate the behaviour of these pangolins, for the first time, using a battery of cognitive tasks based on a manipulation of available sensory information. In an object-choice task in which only one of two containers was baited with food, the pangolins were able to find the food with olfactory information alone (N = 2), but not with visual or acoustic information alone (N = 1). The single subject tested on all three domains was further tested on how he used smell to find food by providing him with an opportunity to find it from a controlled distance or by using scent trails as a guide. The r

SUBMITTER: DiPaola JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7300028 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature