Editing Ground pangolin (section)

== Conservation status and threats ==
{{see also|Pangolin trade}}

The ground pangolin is listed as [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] by the [[IUCN Red List]]. The assessors state, "there is an inferred past/ongoing and projected future population reduction of 30–40% over a 27-year period (nine years past, 18 years future; generation length estimated at nine years) based primarily on ongoing exploitation for traditional medicine and bushmeat throughout the species' range and evidence of increased intercontinental trade to Asia."<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021"/>

The two main threats encountered by ground pangolin populations are [[habitat destruction|habitat loss]] and [[wildlife trade|illegal trafficking]]. Due to human cultivation of land, the pangolin faces [[habitat fragmentation]] and corresponding reduction in numbers.<ref name="WIAP"/> Meanwhile, illegal trade has an even stronger impact, as pangolins are reported to be the most trafficked animal in the world (with elephants a close second). The scales alone account for 20% of the [[black market]] in protected animal parts;<ref name="guy"/> they are boiled off the body and used for traditional medicines. Pangolin meat is sold as a high-end delicacy in China and Vietnam, the blood is believed to be a healing tonic, and pangolin fetuses have alleged health benefits and [[aphrodisiac]] qualities. A conservative estimate of pangolins trafficked illegally each year is 10,000, while actual numbers for a two-year period may be in excess of 250,000. How many are left in the wild is unknown. Pangolins are generally poorly known to the public and their endangered status has so far received much less publicity than in the case of more iconic species.<ref name="cnn"/>{{better source needed |date=July 2018}}