The Sunda pangolin is critically endangered globally as it is poached for its meat and scales. - Photo: Marcus Chua
SINGAPORE: They are one of Singapore’s rarest animals, favouring forested areas and moving around only under the cloak of night. But Sunda pangolins have been spotted in unusual places in recent years, including a busy university campus and even the streets of Katong.
Now, a first-of-its-kind study has shown that these incidents do not just make up the occasional sighting. There has indeed been an upward trend of this critically endangered mammal venturing out of the Republic’s forests over the years – and winding up in need of rescue or as roadkill.
Between 1996 and 2021, 316 dead and injured pangolins were recorded islandwide, almost double the number of 166 healthy ones sighted, found the new study by the Singapore Pangolin Working Group.
The working group – which aims to further pangolin research and conservation – comprises organisations including the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, wildlife rescue group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), Mandai Wildlife Group and the National Parks Board (NParks).
This study, which maps out where pangolins have been sighted, rescued or found dead over the 25-year-period, identified pangolin “hotspots”, which could pave the way for better protection of these threatened creatures.
It was published in the scientific journal Oryx - The International Journal of Conservation, on Sept 16.
A total of 482 records were gathered from the working group’s organisations such as Mandai Wildlife Group and Acres, as well as from news reports and social media between 1996 and 2021.
This is the first time that such a database has been built for the Sunda pangolin in Singapore, with the researchers hoping that this can be replicated for other species here.
The database, which includes the GPS coordinates of each pangolin sighting, is not made publicly available, so as to protect the animals.
Overall, 482 pangolin records were compiled by the researchers, with most of the records coming from 2011.
Mammal researcher Marcus Chua from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum told The Straits Times that the increased sightings could reflect a rise in the numbers of this scaly mammal, although more studies would be needed to definitively confirm this.
There have not been any studies done to conclusively determine the current pangolin population in Singapore.
But he said that rising public awareness of Singapore’s wildlife could also play a role in the increase in sightings reported.
“It is likely that the pangolin population is stable or increasing along with public awareness about them. Yet, the increasing trend of road traffic accidents and animals in urban areas needing rescue is a cause for concern,” said Chua.
Dead and injured pangolins were mostly recorded in central and western Singapore, close to forested areas where the nature reserves and water catchment are located.
There had been reports of pangolin carcasses found on Mandai Lake Road in 2017 and 2021, among other occasions, during the time when the Mandai area was in the thick of redevelopment to build Bird Paradise and turn the area into an eco-tourism hub.
In 2019, a wildlife bridge over Mandai Lake Road was built to provide wild animals safe passage.
“Mandai Road and Mandai Lake Road are noted traffic accident hot spots and many of these (rescue and roadkill) records occurred before the bridge was built,” said Chua.
But pangolins have also been spotted away from the forests, such as in Katong, Woodlands and Tuas, the study showed. In early 2024, for example, Acres rescued a pangolin found in a canal at Upper Bukit Timah Road.
“We have rescued or came across quite a few cases where pangolins were stranded or sighted in drains and canals. This points to a logical possibility that pangolins are using our drainage network to move around,” noted Acres’ co-chief executive Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan, also one of the study’s authors.
There are eight species of pangolins worldwide, and all of them are heavily trafficked for their scales and meat.
But in Singapore, where one of the species – the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) can be found - its killers are mainly vehicles and habitat loss from development.
The loss of vegetation could be a reason for pangolins dying on roads, and they may also venture out of forests due to weather and in search of mates.
But they end up having to be rescued as the mammals have not adapted to living in urban areas, unlike civets and otters. The mammals can be dehydrated or stuck in a construction site, said Kalai.
Scientists and policymakers can use the data to find ways to shield the Sunda pangolins from road accidents, protect their habitats and plan their release after they have recovered from their injuries, said the researchers.
The paper showed that the outskirts of the Central Catchment and Bukit Timah nature reserves were hotspots for roadkills and injuries and should have more safeguards for pangolins.
“These actions could include erecting barriers at road sides, creating wildlife crossings to improve ecological connectivity, and implementing animal detection systems for motorists,” the paper said.
There are currently two wildlife bridges in Singapore, one over the BKE managed by NParks, called Eco-link @BKE, and another near the Singapore Zoo, managed by the operator of the park.
NParks had also earlier announced that a third wildlife bridge across Upper Bukit Timah Road is slated to open by 2026.
NParks said in response to ST queries that footage from camera traps have shown that pangolins are using both the Eco-link@BKE, as well as the underground culverts at Old Upper Thomson Road and Rifle Range Road.
“We also remain optimistic as our camera traps at the Central Catchment Nature Reserve have shown increased sightings of pangolins, including juveniles, between 2020 and 2023.
"We will continue to monitor the roadkill data to improve and target our mitigation efforts,” added NParks.
The statutory board also urged motorists to heed speed limits and drive safely when driving on roads near nature areas.
With 220 pangolin rescues between 1996 and 2021, the researchers said the country’s capacity to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife will need to adapt to the rising number of pangolins needing to be rescued.
Between 2015 and 2021, 67 per cent of all rescued pangolins in Singapore were successfully treated and returned to the wild, the paper added.
Pangolin rescues are carried out by NParks and Acres, before they are attended to by the veterinary healthcare team at Mandai Wildlife Group, with support from the NParks Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation.
While the animal hospital at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve is equipped to manage the growing numbers of rescue cases, it is more crucial to nip the problem in the bud by addressing the main reasons why pangolins end up injured in the first place, said Mandai Wildlife Group veterinarian Charlene Yeong and co-author of the paper.
Notably, most of the rescue cases and roadkills were male pangolins, since males tend to travel farther than females, venturing beyond the forests and into urban areas.
The study found that male pangolins were twice as likely to be rescued, and 3.6 times more males ended up as roadkills.
It could help if recovered males were released far away from urban areas, to prevent accidents, the paper noted.
While the scientific paper was published only in September 2024, the database had been completed by end-2021 and made available to developers or consultancies that request the information, The Straits Times understands.
So far, the database has been used for environmental studies in five development projects in or around pangolin habitats, said Chua, the mammal researcher.
Biodiversity consultancy Camphora has used the data in master planning and residential projects in the central and north-west areas of Singapore.
Due to their rarity, pangolins are rarely sighted during biodiversity surveys.
The database helps to convince urban planners that measures to protect the mammals are important if their developments affect how pangolins move, and can provide insights on the animals’ displacement that may occur with clearing vegetation, said Camphora’s lead arborist Derek Yap.
He added: “We were once asked ‘Why did the pangolin cross the road?’ by a developer who was unconvinced that his development will result in any impacts to fauna.
"The detail of this georeferencing data would have been sufficient to correct the ignorance.” - The Straits Times/ANN
