Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world and extremely difficult to keep in captivity, making zoo welfare programs both critical and profoundly challenging.
Pangolin zoo welfare represents one of the most difficult challenges in exotic animal care. Their extreme dietary specialization, high stress sensitivity, and low tolerance for captive conditions have led to high mortality in most zoo programs. Only a handful of institutions worldwide have achieved sustained survival and breeding of pangolins in captivity. For these rare success cases, meticulous attention to diet composition, temperature, humidity, and minimal disturbance is essential. The conservation argument for maintaining captive pangolins is significant given illegal trade pressures, but welfare compromises in unsuccessful programs are severe and justify careful evaluation.