The Pangolin is a very strange looking animal. Their scaly body makes them appear somewhat more like a Reptile than a Mammal to many people. Unfortunately, very few Filipinos are likely to actually ever see one, since they are among the most endangered animals in the world.
A Pangolin’s armor-like scales, which cover their entire body (except for parts of their underbelly) to protect them from the claws and teeth of predators, are believed by some to possess medicinal properties. As a result, Pangolins are hunted and killed in great numbers to supply a growing demand.
The Philippine Pangolin (Manis culionensis) is a subspecies believed to be one of the most trafficked animals on Earth. Poachers seek them out in the wild and, after capturing them, hand the poor creatures over to smugglers who sneak them out of the Philippines in boats to places in China, Vietnam, and other countries.
As a result, the Philippine Pangolin, one of only eight Pangolin species in the world, is considered critically endangered. This means that they face an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
FASCINATING CREATURES
Like all Pangolins, the ones found in the Philippines are terrestrial and arboreal: They move around on land as well as in trees, aided in part by their long prehensile tails that allow them to grab onto branches. Female Pangolins also use their tail to carry their young.
Like others of their kind, Philippine Pangolins have long, sharp claws at theend of their powerful forelimbs with which they tear into Termite nests, and a long sticky tongue that allows them to capture and slurp up the tiny crawling Insects.
Pangolins do not have teeth nor the ability to chew, so Termites, Ants, and a few other types of small Insects make up their entire diet.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
When threatened, Philippine Pangolins roll themselves into a ball, protecting their nose, eyes, and underbelly, the only parts of their body not covered by protective scales. This tendency gave this animal their name: The Malaysian word penggulung means “one that rolls up.”
Filipinos, on the other hand, call them balintong, or “one that rolls over.”
While this defensive maneuver may serve as a deterrent against predators such as Cats and Birds of prey, it is not as effective against human poachers who can just pick up the immobile animal and stuff them into a bag.
SUPERSTITION, NOT SCIENCE
Pangolins are hunted and trafficked mainly for their scales. The pointed, overlapping scales that cover most of a Pangolin’s body are made of keratin. Keratin is the same substance that makes up human fingernails.
No scientific evidence exists saying that keratin has any medicinal value, but some traditional healers insist that when dried, roasted, or crushed into powder, a Pangolin’s scales can be used to treat rheumatism, convulsions, and even cancer.
As if that isn’t enough, their scales and bones are used in rituals meant to protect against spiritual possession.
A single Pangolin can be sold for more money than a poor farmer makes in months.
THE SCALES OF INJUSTICE
A single Pangolin can command up to a thousand US dollars, a significant amount of money.
Almost 40 tons of scales from thousands of African Pangolins were reported to have been confiscated in Singapore in 2019. In the same year, several tons of Pangolin scales were also intercepted in Hong Kong.
These numbers are only from the cases where the smugglers were caught. It’s almost
impossible to imagine how many have been killed and traded around the world in the past few decades to feed the age-old demand for their scales, bones, and meat.
In the Philippines, comprehensive information about the number of Pangolins poached and smuggled is incomplete, but experts believe the Pangolin population in the country has declined by over 90 percent since the 1980s.
In 2013, a Chinese boat ran into a reef in the Philippines’ Tubbataha Reef, and officials found 2,800 dead Pangolins on board. In 2019, authorities in Palawan confiscated over a ton of Pangolin scales and other wildlife parts from a house in Puerto Princesa.
Between 2018 and 2019, Philippine authorities intercepted almost 7,000 smuggled Pangolins.
Again, this number represents only the perpetrators who were actually apprehended. All Pangolin species are banned from international trade under the multilateral treaty, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The poaching continues, however. Poorly enforced laws and relatively small penalties contribute to the problem, as does the poverty of many Filipinos who live in the areas where Pangolins can be found – a single Pangolin can be sold for more money than a poor farmer makes in months.
DISAPPEARING HABITAT
Hunters and smugglers are only part of the problem Philippine Pangolins face in their battle to survive.
The animals are normally found in the lowland forests and grasslands of the island of Palawan, but with people destroying their natural habitat, the animals have been forced to occupy more developed areas such as farms and even the outskirts of cities. This puts them in greater danger of encountering humans.
Whenever human and wildlife territories overlap, that usually means bad news for the wildlife. Roads running through forests often result in animals being run over and killed. The depletion of wooded areas means a loss of homes, breeding, and feeding grounds.
Pollution from factories and mines contaminate water supplies as well as the ground itself – a major dilemma for Pangolins whose only food source inhabits the soil.
SO MUCH TO LEARN
The Philippine Pangolin is considered to be at risk of going extinct.
The permanent disappearance of any animal is a tragedy, as every creature enriches our world’s biodiversity. The loss of the Philippine Pangolin would be particularly tragic as there are so many aspects about this curious animal that scientists have not yet studied or are discovering only now due to their reclusive behavior. Besides, it was only recently that they were recognized as a distinct species.
WE DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HOW THEY MATE
Very little is known about the Philippine Pangolin’s mating behavior. It is known that the animals mate seasonally, but it has not been determined exactly how males and females find each other. The Pangolin’s olfactory glands that give it a keen sense of smell are thought to play an important role.
THEY MIGHT IMPROVE SOIL AERATION
Environmentalists believe that, because they prey on Ants and Termites, Pangolins play a role in controlling the Insects’ populations. They dig burrows with the same powerful claws that allow them to penetrate Termite mounds, and may affect soil processes, such as aeration where the atmosphere mixes with the soil and improves the soil’s ability to sustain plant growth.
ANIMALS MIGHT LIKE THEIR OLD BURROWS
Their abandoned burrows may also serve as shelter for other animals not as adept at digging.
WE DON’T KNOW WHY THEY DON’T DESTROY INSECT MOUNDS
Scientists have also noted a peculiar aspect of the Philippine Pangolin’s eating habits. While each animal may consume over 20,000 Termites or Ants when raiding a nest, they often leave most of the mound intact, making it possible for the colony to regrow. This practice is a remarkable example of sustainable feeding behavior by an animal.
There are still many mysteries about the Philippine Pangolin.
This lack of knowledge about the animal makes it very hard to maintain them in captivity, often the last resort when an animal is near extinction. The animal gets easily stressed when confined and their diet of Termites and Ants is difficult to replicate in zoos and other conservation facilities.
QUO VADIS?
Conservationists say that it may be possible for the Philippine Pangolin population to recover if the appropriate protection measures are set up to safeguard the species. While most of us are in no position to enforce conservation laws, we can still do our part in helping to educate people about this incredible animal.
BUST THE MYTH
Word needs to spread that Pangolin scales, the main reason the animal is being hunted to extinction, have about as much medicinal value as one’s fingernail clippings.
SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES
Human poverty contributes as well to the Pangolin’s decline. With few means of earning a decent living, many Filipinos living in rural and forested areas see Pangolin poaching as a way to put food on their table.
By creating and supporting livelihood opportunities in these areas, we can provide alternative ways for them to survive other than trapping and selling wildlife.
FOSTER EMPATHY
We need to remember that every animal occupies a special place in Earth’s ecology. Once an animal goes extinct, it’s gone for good, and we are all a little poorer for the loss.
Let’s do our part in ensuring that future generations get the opportunity to behold this unique creature.
