Courtney Hughes and Camille Warbington represented TRCO at the Wildlife Society Conference in Edmonton 2025, presenting our pangolin research and community-based conservation efforts. The Wildlife Society’s Annual Conference brought together wildlife professionals, students, government agencies, NGOs and conservation practitioners for four days of presentations, plenaries, and targeted networking in Edmonton, Alberta.
The sessions highlighted TRCO’s community-based surveys focusing on pangolins in the Ruaha. Based on recently published work , our presentation shared how Local Ecological Knowledge helped to map the distribution and activity patterns of Temminck’s pangolins, revealing strong connections between pangolin encounters and local livelihood activities such as farming and grazing.
Communities expressed willingness to engage in monitoring and conservation, presenting an actionable path to inclusive, place-based protection strategies that align biodiversity goals with local needs, emphasizing the important role that local farmers and communities play in conservation efforts.
A second presentation provided a rigorous look at illegal trade dynamics affecting pangolins, identifying key actors, common trade routes, and enforcement bottlenecks that enable continued trafficking. We highlighted how policy and management must strengthen inter-agency, international and community coordination while supporting local livelihoods to move away from these practices.
Moreover, TWS Conference afforded us opportunities to develop new networks to explore future collaborations with academic researchers, zoos, and NGOs — concrete momentum that we’re excited to embark on, ever-expanding our on-the-ground efforts.
Thank you to everyone who connected with us, if you want to partner on pangolin conservation or support TRCO’s next steps, get in touch! info@trco.or.tz or courtneyhughes@trco.or.tz