Pangolins are insectivorous, predominantly nocturnal, and predate almost exclusively on ants and termites, with a strong preference for particular insect species (Lin et al. 2015; Choo et al. 2016). Eight species of pangolins are present in Africa and Asia, with habitat loss and changes in their living environment seriously affecting their population status. Most importantly, pangolins have been greatly impacted by the illegal international and domestic wildlife trade for traditional medicine or meat (Zhang et al. 2015). Hence, pangolins are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (du Toit et al. 2017). Notably, pangolins may also be threatened by epizootic pathogens, either present in their original habitats or in their new environments following translocation. Indeed, the translocation or trafficking of domestic and wild animals plays an important role in the spread of many epizootic pathogens (Lin et al. 2012; Kosmider et al. 2013; Peeler et al. 2015).