Genomic analyses reveal poaching hotspots and illegal trade in pangolins from Africa to Asia

Reducing the illegal wildlife trade requires an understanding of its origins. Here we present a genomic approach for tracing confiscated scales from the world’s most trafficked mammal, the white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis), to their geographic origins. Analyzing scales seized in Hong Kong SAR, China from 2012–2018 revealed intense poaching along Cameroon’s southern border. Poaching pressures shifted over time from West to Central Africa. Using data from seizures representing nearly one million African pangolins, we identified Nigeria as a significant hub for trafficking, where scales are amassed and shipped to Vietnam and Hong Kong SAR, China, with final transit to markets in Guangdong and Guangxi, China. This origin-to-destination approach offers new opportunities to disrupt the illegal wildlife trade and to guide anti-trafficking measures.

打击非法野生动物贸易，需先明晰其源头。本研究提出一种基因组学分析方法，可用于追溯全球被非法贩运量最高的哺乳动物——白腹穿山甲（white-bellied pangolin, *Phataginus tricuspis*）的被查获鳞片的地理来源。对2012至2018年间在中国香港特别行政区（Hong Kong SAR）查获的鳞片进行分析后发现，喀麦隆南部边境一带存在高强度盗猎活动。盗猎压力随时间推移，从西非地区转向中非地区。借助涉及近百万头非洲穿山甲的查获案件数据，本研究确认尼日利亚为关键贩运枢纽：鳞片在此聚集后，被运往越南与中国香港特别行政区（Hong Kong SAR），最终转运至中国广东、广西两地的市场。这种‘源头-目的地’溯源方法，为打击非法野生动物贸易、指导反贩运举措提供了全新路径。