sunda pangolins
LEAP has long been concerned about the loss of Sabah’s biodiversity and has supported initiatives to conserve threatened and endangered species such as the Critically Endangered Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica).
In 2014 LEAP helped initiate the Pangolin Conservation Working Group comprising NGOs and relevant government departments and in September 2017 the Sunda Pangolin was upgraded to a Totally Protected species under Schedule 1 of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.
LEAP has also supported the work of local pangolin researcher Elisa Panjang (see here) through input into the design and distribution of pangolin conservation awareness materials such as posters and the sharing of news articles in the press. And to help promote World Pangolin Day on 15th February 2020, LEAP worked with Elisa to highlight the plight of pangolins during its "Ketamu 4 Pangolins" event, a market showcasing local sustainable products and initiatives. Elisa and Sabah Wildlife Department carried out educational activities with local students and engaged with the public through a stall with pangolin information and awareness materials.
Over recent years dialogues with stakeholders have revealed a need for enhanced veterinary and husbandry practices for confiscated and rescued pangolins including establishing a permanent centre for Sunda Pangolins in Sabah, and increased research and conservation as well as fundraising, education and awareness and enforcement.
Together with Elisa Panjang, and working closely with Sabah wildlife Department, LEAP is also embarking on a new project called the ‘Pangolin Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release (3R) Programme’ which aims to gather expertise and agree protocols for Pangolin Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release manuals/Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs); establish capacity to actually implement rescue, rehabilitation and release of pangolins at facilities in Sabah through the acquisition of equipment and training of staff ; and build public support for pangolin conservation through continued advocacy and outreach.
While awareness may be slowly increasing about the plight of the pangolin, this is matched by a seemingly undiminished demand for pangolin meat and scales, both domestically and internationally, and with the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as COVID -19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the need to stop wildlife trade has never been greater.
LEAP will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including local communities, to secure a future for this wonderful but threatened mammal and its habitats.
Sabah's pangolins received a boost on 24th August when vets and rangers from Sabah Wildlife Department @5rhidupanliar and the @Wildlife Rescue Unit attended a workshop on pangolin husbandry and veterinary care, organised by LEAP in conjunction with Sabah Wildlife Department and Danau Girang Field Centre pangolin researcher Elisa Panjang, at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.
Also at the workshop were Dr Charlene Yeong, Senior Manager, Conservation and Wildlife Health, Research and Veterinary Department, and Mr Ade Kurniawan, Animal Care Officer and Sunda Pangolin SSMP Coordinator, from Mandai Wildlife Reserve Mandai Nature and Mandai Wildlife Group, Singapore.
It was a great opportunity for sharing experiences and challenges in the care and treatment of rescued and surrendered pangolins when they are brought into wildlife rescue facilities at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, as well as to learn from our Singapore guests.
The workshop will also form the basis of the development of improved guidelines and protocols for pangolin care in Sabah.
This is the second workshop under LEAP's Pangolin Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release (3R) programme with the all important workshop on pangolin release due to be held early next year.
Group photo of participants
Ade, Dr Charlene and Dr Boon from Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, with the newly produced 'What to do if you see a pangolin' poster
Ade sharing about Sunda pangolin care
Group discussion on pangolin husbandry with rangers and Ade
Dr Rosa from Lok Kawi Wildlife Park giving her presentation
Dr Charlene from Singapore demonstrating pangolin care using a plush toy pangolin
Group discussion on pangolin veterinary care
Certificate presentation to participant Ibritinah Angkle, a veterinary nurse from Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
A fortuitous meeting with student and aspiring wildlife vet Chiara Ceresa at a World Pangolin Day event in Kota Kinabalu earlier this year, resulted in Elisa and Sylvia being invited to give a talk at Chiara’s school - Institut Sinaran, a pre-university centre for 18-23 year old students on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu, on 25th July 2022.
Over 100 students and their teachers attended the talk and were treated to an in depth presentation by Elisa on Sunda pangolins and their conservation in Sabah as well as getting to see some of the equipment used in pangolin field research.
It is our hope that students like this can become ambassadors for pangolins and also be the eyes and ears of the public in spotting and reporting pangolin poaching or meat and scales being traded. We hope that some students will go on to study biology or ecology and be inspired to be the next generation of conservationists. In particular we wish all luck to Chiara in following her passion and succeeding in her career as a wildlife vet in Sabah.
Students and plush toy pangolins at Elisa's talk at Institut Sinaran
Elisa demonstrating with plush toy pangolins how pangolin babies ride on their mothers' backs
Students and teachers also got to see some of the tools used in pangolin research such as camera traps and radio tracking equipment
Student and passionate pangolin supporter Chiara Ceresa receiving a poster from Elisa
On 29th September 2021 LEAP held an online meeting together with Elisa and other key stakeholders to brainstorm on issues such as existing pangolin rescue SOPs and protocols, pangolin husbandry including health, food, enrichment, housing and behaviour, dealing with young pangolins or ‘pangopups’, handling of large seizures of pangolin and the all-important topics of release and post-release monitoring as well as the collection and compilation of pangolin rescue data in Sabah.
We were very fortunate to have input from Wildlife Reserve Singapore’s Ade Kurniawan, Animal Care Officer and Sunda Pangolin coordinator at the Night Safari whose experience and insights on pangolin husbandry were greatly appreciated.
Next steps for the 3R programme are proposed training sessions for pangolin rescue ‘front liners’ – first responders such as wildlife vets and rangers and NGO members who sometimes rescue pangolins, to increase capacity in rescue techniques and come up with a set of SOPs endorsed by Sabah Wildlife Department, as well as helping to improve current holding facilities for rescued pangolins.
Together we can make the world a better place for these amazing animals!
Brainstorming meeting on pangolin rescue and husbandry, September 2021
As part of the PANGOLIN RESCUE, REHABILITATION AND RELEASE (3R) programme, on 20th January 2022 LEAP held the first of its awareness and capacity building events under, focusing on 'Capacity Building and Formulation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Pangolin Rescue and Confiscation in Sabah'. The event was organised in conjunction with Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and Elisa Panjang , pangolin researcher and conservation officer of Danau Girang Field Centre, and brought together ’frontliners’ from various relevant agencies including from SWD headquarters and district offices throughout Sabah, vets and rangers from Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and the Wildlife Rescue Unit, staff from Sabah Forestry Department and the Sabah Foundation and representatives from wildlife NGOs including WWF Malaysia, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, 1 StopBorneo Wildlife and Panthera.
Held as a hybrid event with participants attending in person and online, and officiated by Tuan Roland Niun, Deputy Director ll of Sabah Wildlife Department, participants were introduced to the 3R project then given an in depth introduction to pangolin biology, research, behaviour and conservation by Elisa, followed by a comprehensive overview of laws and regulations governing the rescue and confiscation of Totally Protected wildlife under Sabah’s Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 by Senior Wildlife Officer, Awareness and Education, and Pangolin Species Officer Puan Nurain Acheh. This was followed by a presentation by Dr Roopan Navaneetha, WRU Assistant Manager who shared about WRU’s experiences and challenges with pangolin rescues in Sabah.
Participants had a chance to look at equipment used in pangolin rescues and different types of transportation and holding boxes, and discuss the pros and cons of various methods of dealing with pangolins under different rescue scenarios.
Members of the public are contacting the authorities more and more often about pangolins, with at least 33 rescue cases in Sabah in the last 10 months. The hope is that the frontliners in wildlife rescues will be better empowered and equipped to rescue pangolins safely and that standard operating procedures (SOPs) can be formalised so that stress caused to pangolins during rescue can be minimised. As well as implementing best practise, much needed and valuable data on pangolins such as distribution and threats such as injuries from dogs can also be gathered during rescues and analysed.
Next steps will include finalising the SOPs and disseminating to relevant stakeholders and then moving to the second phase of the 3R programme which will focus on husbandry of rescued pangolins in rescue centres before the pangolins are released back to the wild.
Deputy Director ll of SWD Roland Niun giving his opening speech
Sylvia and Elisa handing over a specially modified pangolin holding box to Roland, Boxes were donated to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre clinics and to the Wildlife Rescue Unit. Thank you to The Shared Earth Foundation for funding the purchase of this equipment
Elisa explaining about the pros and cons of different equipment used in pangolin rescues
Puan Nurain of SWD receiving a token of appreciation from Sylvia
Newly empowered pangolin rescuers in a group photo after the training
What do you do if you see a pangolin? This question was partly answered by a new poster produced in 2022 by LEAP’s Biodiversity Conservation Manager Sylvia Yorath and Danau Girang Field Centre’s pangolin researcher Elisa Panjang in response to the growing number of pangolins being rescued by members of the public in Sabah.
The poster in Bahasa Malaysia and English shows how pangolins are frightened of dogs and stressed by loud noises and bright lights and human contact, and how, often the best way of dealing with them is to just let them go back to the forest.
If they are injured however, or in danger for example from a busy road, the poster highlights how to rescue and look after the pangolin until help arrives from the Sabah Wildlife Department or Wildlife Rescue Unit, and contact details for these organisations are given.
The poster has been distributed widely to villages, schools, plantations, conservation area field centres and wildlife rescue centres as well as at wildlife awareness events.
Let’s all help to protect our precious and Critically Endangered Sunda pangolins.
The A1 size poster in Bahasa Malaysia and English
'What to do if you see a pangolin?' posters being distributed to community members in Kg Terasak, Telupid
Primary school SK Tidung, Tabin receiving a copy of the poster
World Pangolin Day was celebrated internationally on 18th February this year and LEAP, together with Elisa Panjang of Danau Girang Field Centre and Sabah Wildlife Department, shared about pangolin conservation and some of the exciting initiatives that have been taking place in Sabah by spreading the word through the Sabah and national press. Our article was covered widely including in the local Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia newspapers!
Daily Express - Sabah to Celebrate World Pangolin Day
The Star - Plight of the Pangolin Move to Boost Awareness on Threatened Species in Sabah
Daily Express - Masih Perlu Banyak Usaha Untuk Tenggiling di Sabah
New Straits Times - Sabah Observes World Pangolin Day Concern
This year Sabah celebrated World Pangolin Day in style on 11th March 2023 at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park near Kota Kinabalu, in an event jointly organized by Sabah Wildlife Department, Danau Girang Field Centre and LEAP with support from the Wildlife Rescue Unit and others.
Over 200 people visited the informative displays and took part in activities like guessing the number of scales on a giant pangolin statue, making pangolin pledges, assembling a pangolin jigsaw puzzle and upscaling of used materials to create new handicrafts.
Groups of students from Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) Kampus Gaya, Cosmopoint College and University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF) also took part in a ‘sembang santai’ or casual chat session hosted by local celebrity Amy Dangin which featured an interactive dialogue with pangolin experts from Sabah Wildlife Department and Danau Girang Field Centre, a quiz and lots of laughter!
Feedback from participants of the ‘sembang santai’ showed that learning more information on pangolins was important to the students and the relaxed informal session with Amy Dangin was greatly enjoyed. After the event many students said they would spread awareness and share information about pangolins with their families and on social media, and they would report to the authorities if they come across pangolin meat being sold or find an injured pangolin.
We hope events such as this can inspire greater awareness of and support for pangolins and their conservation and we will continue our efforts to protect pangolins and their habitats!
Students from UCSF enjoying the event
Amy Dangin in the ‘sembang santai’
Amy and students having fun
Upscaling with Japson Wong – creating beautiful insects from used materials
Pangolin pledge tree
Informal dialogue in the ‘sembang santai’ with Nurain Acheh and Dr Nabila Sarkawi from Sabah Wildlife Department and Elisa Panjang from Danau Girang Field Centre
Not as easy as it looks… putting together the pangolin jigsaws!
Making a promise… writing pledges to put on the pledge tree
Never too old to enjoy colouring!
Pangolin display by Danau Girang Field Centre
On Saturday 23rd September LEAP joined forces with local pangolin expert Elisa Panjang and staff from Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and Borneo Behaviour Solutions in an event called Makers and Mavems Wildlife Learning Adventure, held at bustling Riverson in Kota Kinabalu.
Organised in conjunction with Lok Kawi Wildlife Park Outreach and Education programme, kindergarten children and their parents were treated to a day of fun and learning about pangolins through activities like a sharing conservation talk by Elisa, a quiz, colouring sessions and puzzles. Children and parents alike enjoyed themselves finding out more about our scaly friends and how we can all help in pangolin conservation.
Elisa sharing about our precious pangolins to an attentive audience.
Enjoying the quiz with Elisa!
Some serious colouring going on!
Puan Maryati from Lok Kawi Wildlife Park with a happy winner of the colouring activity.
A giant pangolin puzzle which challenged adults and children alike!
Proud father…
Posters and information about pangolins and their conservation also attracted the public who were enjoying a day out at Riverson.
What happens to rescued pangolins after they are released back to the rainforest? Are we releasing them in the right locations? How do we monitor if they survive?
These were some of the important issues discussed at the third of LEAP’s pangolin workshops carried out under its Pangolin Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release (3R) programme, this time focusing on the all important issue of release of rescued and confiscated pangolins back to the wild.
Held at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in conjunction with Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah’s very own pangolin expert Elisa Panjang on 8 th June 2023, some 30 participants from Sabah Wildlife Department’s HQ, Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, Sepilok and district offices, the Wildlife Rescue Unit, Sabah Parks, Sabah Forestry Department, Danau Girang Field Centre, WWF Malaysia, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, 1StopBorneo Wildlife and Rasa Ria Reserve heard the latest analysis of data on Sunda pangolin rescues and confiscations in Sabah and discussed challenges in releasing these sensitive animals back to the wild, including husbandry of pangolins during release, criteria for release sites and the need for more monitoring and evaluation.
Comprehensive and accurate data from all involved in pangolin conservation in Sabah is essential and will form the basis of the forthcoming State Action Plan for Sunda pangolins.
LEAP greatly appreciates all the inputs from stakeholders who attended and shared their expertise and experiences with pangolin rescues and releases. Recommendations and guidelines will be drawn up based on outputs from the workshop and shared through Sabah Wildlife Department.
Participants and friends at the end of the workshop
Elisa sharing about the data analysis of pangolin rescues and releases in Sabah
SWD veterinarian Dr Symphorosa Sipangkui presenting on pangolin releases – the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park experience
Nur’ain Ampuan Acheh of Sabah Wildlife Department explaining about Sunda Pangolin Rescue and Surrender Guidelines
Group sessions on pangolin husbandry during release and release locations
Participants listening to comments from Andy Martin from Tawau Hills Park, Sabah Parks, with Tuan Roland Niun, Deputy Director l of Sabah Wildlife Department in the foreground
Kevin Elmond of the Wildlife Rescue Unit sharing data on WRU pangolin rescues and releases
Elisa with vets and rangers at the workshop
Soft toy pangolins joining in the certificate presentations
Our first pangolin event of the year, organised by LEAP and local NGO Pangolin Aware and entitled “Pangolin
Conservation in the Kinabatangan: Workshop on Awareness and Action” was held on 23 rd January 2024 and
focused on important stakeholders from the biodiversity hotspot of the Kinabatangan region in eastern Sabah.
Participants from six major plantation companies in the area, Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Wildlife
Department (SWD) Kinabatangan offices, Danau Girang Field Centre and KOPEL (Koperasi Pelancongan Mukim
Batu Puteh Kinabatangan), as well as from a local ecotourism company and a local community, took part in the
workshop, which was hosted by KOPEL located on the banks of the beautiful Kinabatangan River.
The workshop aimed to increase awareness about the plight of pangolins and empower stakeholders to take
effective action in conserving pangolins, as well as to build collaboration and share knowledge.
Presentations were given by Elisa Panjang, founder and director of Pangolin Aware, on movement ecology and
behaviour of Sunda pangolin in the fragmented habitat of the Kinabatangan, and by Sylvia Alsisto of SWD on
challenges in wildlife law enforcement in the Kinabatangan landscape. Participants were encouraged to share
their experiences and encounters with pangolins and also took part in focused discussions on enforcement and
pangolin research and education. Copies of the presentations and the “What to do if you see a pangolin?”
poster were shared with participants.
Next steps include the production and distribution of a comprehensive report in the form of guidelines on
pangolins and their conservation to be implemented in participants’ respective organisations and building on
the networking between plantations, the tourism sector, local communities, researchers, NGOs and other
stakeholders in the Kinabatangan.
LEAP together with other partners continues to work towards a brighter future for these amazing animals!
Participants at the “Pangolin Conservation in the Kinabatangan: Workshop on Awareness and Action” event organised by LEAP and Pangolin Aware and held at KOPEL in January 2024.
Participants from KOPEL presenting research and education findings during the group discussion.
Participant from Sukau Rainforest Lodge presenting findings from the enforcement group discussion.
Elisa Panjang of Pangolin Aware presenting a certificate to Sylvia Alsisto of the Sabah Wildlife Department.
LEAP’s Pangolin Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release (3R) programme participated in a vibrant and packed World Wildlife Day event held at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park on 2nd-3rd March 2024.
Our stall featured the ever-popular pangolin jigsaw puzzle as well as colouring activities for children and displays including the “What to do if you see a pangolin?” poster.
It was a great way to interact with families and children and spread the message of conserving our wonderful wildlife!
All generations enjoying the activities!
Family effort!
Learning about pangolins through play!
Learning about pangolins through play!
April was a busy and exciting month for pangolin conservation in Sabah, with three awareness events in one week!
First off was a visit to SK Moyog in Penampang on 24 th April where 150 students aged from five to 12 years old enthusiastically took part in quizzes and games and shared about their own experiences with pangolins after listening to talks from staff from Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and Elisa Panjang, pangolin researcher and founder and director of Pangolin Aware. LEAP brought along its pangolin jigsaw and colouring activities and donated pangolin posters to the school.
Next up on 27 th April LEAP joined a World Pangolin Day event hosted by the State Library in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu where school groups and members of the public with their families enjoyed our pangolin puzzle, making pangolin pledges, colouring, quizzes and talks by Elisa and Senior Wildlife Officer Puan Siti Nur’ain Ampuan Acheh of Sabah Wildlife Department as well as other exciting activities.
Then on 30 th April, LEAP participated in a World Pangolin Day event at Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort, Tuaran, where students from four nearby schools and local community representatives attended a fun-filled half-day with informative talks and sharing sessions with Nurain, Elisa and Rasa Ria Reserve staff, and games and displays by LEAP, Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit and others.
We hope that participants from all these events have a new-found love and appreciation of our precious pangolins and their conservation!
Elisa with the pupils of SK Moyog showing their support for pangolins!
Sylvia presenting a prize to one of the pangolin quiz winners.
Children enjoying the giant pangolin jigsaw puzzle challenge at the State Library event.
Future pangolin ambassadors getting up close and personal with soft toy pangolins.
Copies of the “What to do if you see a pangolin?’ poster being presented to SK Moyog’s Principal.
Making a pledge for the safe future of Sabah’s pangolins!
Tuan Soffian bin Abu Bakar, Deputy Director ll of Sabah Wildlife Department presenting a certificate of appreciation to Tuan Weiter, Penampang Fire and Rescue Station Officer after his talk on wildlife rescues.
Fire and rescue Station staff looking at the LEAP pangolin display in the library.
Having fun with LEAP’s soft toy pangolin and the pangolin pledge tree.
Encouraging student participation in the Rasa Ria World Pangolin Day event.
Pangolin Aware, Sabah Wildlife Department, Wildlife Rescue Unit and Rasa Ria Resort staff together with students and local residents enjoying the World Pangolin Day event on 30th April.
On Saturday 24th August 2024 LEAP participated in a fun-filled ‘Night at the Library’ held at the Sabah State Library Headquarters in Kota KInabalu.
The event which ran from 6pm- midnight was packed with families and children, all enjoying the different activities like puppet and magic shows, costume competitions and scavenger hunts. LEAP took part in a story-telling session, highlighting sun bears and pangolins, which was keenly listened to by the kids and their parents!
Poster for the event
A rapt audience listening to wildlife tales
Sylvia with the ever-popular pangopup soft toy