Spatial crime scripting and meso-level analyses of illegal pangolin trade
Abstract
Human-related threats such as poaching and illegal trade remain the dominant risk to pangolin conservation. Using crime science focused on illegal pangolin hunting, we compare expert vs. community member’s spatio-temporal knowledge about the different stages of pangolin poaching and trade process at a national scale; explore spatial trajectories between stages; and explore spatial predictors of each stage. We conducted participatory risk mapping in December 2025 and April 2026. Points mapped by participants (n = 2,161) were coded and analyzed alongside open access secondary spatial data using a geographic information system. Participants had over 85% agreement in spatial knowledge about crime-related pangolin behavior. Vector pattern analysis signaled the existence of multi-destination groups rather than individuals, and distance to major cities dominated every crime stage, challenging assumptions about offenses being governed by distinct environmental variables. Integrating community spatial knowledge with crime scripting can inform evidence-based, geographically targeted interventions for endangered species protection.
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BibTeX
@misc{bezuayene2026spatial,
title = {{Spatial crime scripting and meso-level analyses of illegal pangolin trade}},
author = {Elda Yitbarek Bezuayene and Anne Stephanie Kobla and Bienvenu Takem Mbi and Carla Louise Mousset Moumbolou and Stéphanie Bourgeois and Stephan Ntie and St. Gael Bakoma and Claude Maganga Moussadji and Hannah Murray and Bistra Dilkina and Matthew H Shirley and Meredith L Gore},
howpublished = {EcoEvoRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.32942/x2d40q},
url = {https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15734/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Spatial crime scripting and meso-level analyses of illegal pangolin trade
AU - Elda Yitbarek Bezuayene
AU - Anne Stephanie Kobla
AU - Bienvenu Takem Mbi
AU - Carla Louise Mousset Moumbolou
AU - Stéphanie Bourgeois
AU - Stephan Ntie
AU - St. Gael Bakoma
AU - Claude Maganga Moussadji
AU - Hannah Murray
AU - Bistra Dilkina
AU - Matthew H Shirley
AU - Meredith L Gore
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
PB - EcoEvoRxiv
DO - 10.32942/x2d40q
UR - https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15734/
AB - Human-related threats such as poaching and illegal trade remain the dominant risk to pangolin conservation. Using crime science focused on illegal pangolin hunting, we compare expert vs. community member’s spatio-temporal knowledge about the different stages of pangolin poaching and trade process at a national scale; explore spatial trajectories between stages; and explore spatial predictors of each stage. We conducted participatory risk mapping in December 2025 and April 2026. Points mapped by participants (n = 2,161) were coded and analyzed alongside open access secondary spatial data using a geographic information system. Participants had over 85% agreement in spatial knowledge about crime-related pangolin behavior. Vector pattern analysis signaled the existence of multi-destination groups rather than individuals, and distance to major cities dominated every crime stage, challenging assumptions about offenses being governed by distinct environmental variables. Integrating community spatial knowledge with crime scripting can inform evidence-based, geographically targeted interventions for endangered species protection.
ER -