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Baby pangolin aka scaly anteater or locally known as the balingtong. |
What is this thing?, I asked. I had never seen one before! It was a balintong they said. A scaly anteater, also known as the pangolin. It is now one of the fastest disappearing animals on the planet from illegal wildlife poaching, over 1 million of these gentle creatures have been massacred in one year alone!
This animal is the gentlest of creatures. It has no teeth at all and when frightened, it curls into a ball, making it easy to capture! It's diet is strictly ants, their eggs and termites! How was I going to keep this little creature alive? I immediately went online and found only 1 baby pangolin that was saved in South America. It was fed with an ant and termite milkshake. I tried this but this little baby would not take the milk. Our helpers had already brought in a mud termite mound from the forest, and the first night it lapped at this mound like crazy! This gave me hope.
That night I researched online and found very little about the pangolin. Mostly that many are confiscated on route to China or in Hong Kong dead, descaled and sold for the bush meat market and for its scales, which are ground up into pills! Truly barbaric and inhumane.
I found one place online Project Pangolin and wrote to them for advice immediately. They in turn gave me contacts at the local Katala Foundation who have been very helpful.
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The baby pangolin's body was cool to the touch...so I let it keep warm on me for some comfort. |
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Baby pangolin drinking water. |
Watch my video on Youtube of this little survivor:
Here is a short video of little Balin the pangolin foraging for termites on an old log.
A few days after we rescued this little guy, a Chinese ship struck and became reef bound at Tubatahha Reefs. On board they found 2000 dead pangolins, descaled and neatly packaged in plastic wrappers. Here is the story:
A few days later they caught another ship in Busuanga, Palawan with 23 animals on board, 22 were alive and strapped up like this. Photo from ABS-CBN TV Patrol
Another story appealing to people to stop the illegal trade of these defenseless ones on GMA7 online. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/304403/news/regions/coast-guard-asks-palawan-folk-for-info-on-alleged-anteater-trade
How can YOU help? Do not eat pangolins for one, tell the locals not to eat them, since they said they taste like chicken, encourage them the eat CHICKENS which are easier to raise. Do not encourage the locals to capture them for their pleasure or profit and if you find one and it needs rescuing, please contact the PCSD, The Philippine Council for Sustainable Development. Do not buy or sell them and if you hear of local poachers, also contact the PCSD immediately.
At the rate they are being captured, they predict the pangolins will be extinct in as few as 8 years.
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Taken May 3, he is with us almost one month now and thriving. |
PCSD is also aware we have the creature and will also help us in releasing it when it is strong.
HELP preserve their forest environment! Help us save the Palawan Pangolin from going extinct. If you are from Palawan, teach your bantays, helpers and everyone how much we need them in our forests ALIVE.
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