Kota Kinabalu: Sabah will celebrate the World Pangolin Day at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park on March 11 with exhibitions and dialogues and an upcycling workshop and children’s games based on pangolin themes.
It is organised by the Sabah Wildlife Department, Danau Girang Field Centre and Leap, and hosted by Sabah celebrity and wildlife enthusiast Amy Dangin and the event will run from 9am-4pm and is open to all.
Pangolins the world over are celebrated on the third Saturday in February every year.
Sabah’s very own pangolin expert Elisa Panjang is taking part in the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pangolin Specialist Group’s World Pangolin Day themed “Communities Leading Pangolin Conservation” today (Satuday).
“There’s an active international network of pangolin experts and conservationists in all range states including in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and I have been involved in podcasts and interviews and co-creating educational materials for social media to share about our exciting work here in Sabah.
“Efforts are ongoing here through outreach to schools and villages and plantations to increase awareness of the plight of pangolins and how to work together for a brighter future for these fascinating yet critically endangered animals.
“For example, together with Sabah Wildlife Department and Land Empowerment Animals People (Leap) we have also organised workshops on pangolin rescue and veterinary care of pangolin in captivity before release back to the wild.
“Husbandry and rehabilitation of rescued or confiscated pangolin is very challenging, especially if young or baby pangolin known as pangopup are found without their mothers, and we are working to increase the capacity of our vets and rangers in caring for pangolin so they have a better chance of survival when going back in their habitat,” said Elisa, who is the pangolin conservation officer of Danau Girang Field Centre, is taking part:
“We have produced a poster to raise awareness on how to handle pangolins that can be encountered in your garden, farm or in dangerous situations for the pangolin, so that the public have the knowledge on what to do, or who to contact, if the pangolin is found. We have distributed this poster to schools, villages, plantations and conservation areas. Pangolin are totally protected species under Schedule 1 of the Sabah Wildlife Enactment 1997 but unfortunately they are still being poached,” she added.
Are the fortunes of Sabah’s pangolins improving?
According to Elisa, in Sabah still have a long way to go, but awareness is growing.
“Even though pangolins are elusive and nocturnal, these precious inhabitants of Sabah’s forests are fast becoming a wildlife icon, together with orangutans, Bornean elephants, sun bears and clouded leopards,” she said.
For Sylvia Yorath, Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Awareness Manager of Leap, one of the great things about Sabah is how wildlife and conservation NGOs and government departments work together in creative partnerships.
“Organisations like Sabah Wildlife Department through its 5R initiative, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Danau Girang Field Centre, WWF Malaysia and other conservation
partners from Sabah Environmental
Education Network (Seen), do amazing environmental education and awareness work, collaborating and supporting each other at events and in outreach
activities, reaching many different
audiences through their combined efforts.
“There are still many challenges though, including local and international demand for meat and scales and loss of forest habitat, and much research still needs to be done on pangolin population estimates and distribution in Sabah,” she said.
What does the future hold for Sabah’s pangolins? Elisa is hopeful.
“Importantly, training has been carried out in partnership with the Malaysian judiciary, Sabah Wildlife Department, Danau Girang Field Centre and Justice for Silent Victims to increase the capacity of authorities and wildlife experts in successfully prosecuting wildlife crime cases including those involving pangolin.
“And work will start soon on formulating the Sunda Pangolin Action Plan for Sabah which will chart a course for the long term future of these amazing animals,” she said.
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