KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — Residents of an apartment in Sembawang, Singapore were surprised when they came across a Sunda pangolin in the stairwell of their car park recently.
The critically endangered creature was curled up in a corner, hiding itself behind a water pipe.
A photo of this sighting was shared by Singapore’s member of parliament Lim Wee Kiak via his Facebook on Sunday (Nov 6).
According to Lim, the photo was taken by the apartments residents who later called the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).
In an accompanying video, a couple of Acres members were seen rescuing the pangolin.
Talking to Mothership, Acres co-CEO Kalai Vanan said they received a call at 4pm on November 6. He added that the pangolin is young and in good health.
Although there have been instances where pangolins have wandered into urbanised areas, Kalai said it is considered a rare occasion.
This is due to the fact that the creatures were usually spotted at reserve and forested areas, as well as on the islands of Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong.
According to Kalai, the pangolin may have come from any of the existing pockets of forest near the car park. Being a juvenile, it had likely ventured out of its natural habitat and navigated its way through Singapore’s drainage network before it wound up at the car park.
Kalai said the pangolin is healthy and will eventually be released back into the wild.
The Sunda pangolins are native to the South-east Asia region and can usually be found in forested areas.
It is at an extremely high risk of extinction and has been classified as “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
In Asia and Africa, the Sunda pangolin and other species of pangolins are hunted by poachers for their scales and meat and are one of the most trafficked mammals in the world.
