Keywords: awareness; community-based conservation; endangered species; pancake tortoise; wildlife conservation; wildlife management EN awareness community-based conservation endangered species pancake tortoise wildlife conservation wildlife management 105 108 4 02/28/22 20220301 NES 220301 INTRODUCTION The pancake tortoise ( I Malacochersus tornieri i ) is a critically endangered species endemic to a small number of rocky mountain habitats in the semi-arid rangelands of East Africa (Mwaya et al., 2019). Our main aims were to confirm whether villagers were aware of the presence of pancake tortoises and their conservation status and to garner local perspectives on how people and pancake tortoises can co-exist in a shared ecosystem. Awareness, community-based conservation, endangered species, pancake tortoise, wildlife conservation, wildlife management Interviews with local government stakeholders revealed a general awareness and appreciation of pancake tortoises, but respondents were apprehensive about suggesting increased conservation measures against the backdrop of exclusionary conservation in the area (e.g. Tarangire National Park). [Extracted from the article]