Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world, and zoo facilities are increasingly involved in rehabilitation of confiscated individuals, presenting unique welfare challenges for a notoriously difficult species to care for in captivity.
Pangolin welfare in captivity requires extraordinary specialisation. The species are extreme stress-sensitive, and conventional zoo approaches — public display, handling, social housing — are acutely harmful. Rehabilitation facilities must prioritise minimising human contact, providing species-appropriate substrate and thermal environments, and developing nutritionally complete diets that substitute for live ant colonies. Monitoring welfare through behavioural indicators such as foraging activity, burrowing time, and body condition is essential since pangolins rarely show obvious signs of distress before rapid deterioration. Where release to suitable protected habitat is possible, rehabilitation efforts should prioritise this outcome. Permanent captive housing should only be considered when release is definitively not viable.