Mo Ganji: Sunda pangolin | Sunda-Schuppentier | Manis javanica | No. 216/250 from work group 8/99

Sunda pangolin | Sunda-Schuppentier | Manis javanica

Mo Ganji brings the Sunda pangolin — a nocturnal, scale-covered mammal inhabiting tropical forests and agricultural mosaics — into a process of reduction where essence precedes form. The single line condenses the being into a restrained coherence, setting aside armor, movement and defense so that what remains is a quiet presence. In Ganji’s understanding, the line is not bound to the pangolin alone; it remains open, reminding us that every figure is also a human concept momentarily assigned to a living reality.

Manis javanica is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Native to Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and parts of Indochina, the species has suffered catastrophic declines across its range. Once relatively widespread, wild populations have been reduced drastically, and the pangolin is now considered one of the most trafficked mammals in the world.

The principal threats include intensive illegal hunting and trafficking driven by demand for scales and meat, habitat loss from deforestation and agricultural expansion, and the species’ low reproductive rate. Because pangolins are solitary, elusive and slow to reproduce, removal of individuals has immediate and lasting impacts. Enforcement challenges and transnational trafficking networks continue to undermine conservation efforts.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the pangolin can be encountered beyond protection or vulnerability. It allows the being to be perceived as a life folded inward, suggesting how defenses evolved over millions of years offer little resistance against extraction systems that recognize only value, not presence.