More and more Sunda pangolins are venturing out of the forests, but many end up dead or have to be rescued

SINGAPORE – They are among the rarest animals in Singapore, preferring forest areas and only moving under the cover of night.

But in recent years, Sunda pangolins have been spotted in unusual places, including a busy university campus and even the streets of Katong.

A study, the first of its kind, has now shown that these incidents are not just occasional sightings. In fact, there has been an increasing trend over the years of this endangered mammal venturing out of the Republic's forests – and ultimately having to be rescued or being run over as a road victim.

Between 1996 and 2021, 316 dead and injured pangolins were recorded islandwide, almost twice the 166 healthy pangolins sighted, according to a new study by the Singapore Pangolin Working Group.

The working group, which aims to promote pangolin research and species conservation, includes the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum of the National University of Singapore, the wildlife rescue organization Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), the Mandai Wildlife Group and the National Parks Board (NParks).

This study, which mapped where pangolins were sighted, rescued or found dead over the 25-year observation period, identified pangolin hotspots that could pave the way for better protection of these threatened animals.

It was published on September 16 in the scientific journal Oryx – The International Journal of Conservation.

A total of 482 records were collected between 1996 and 2021 from working group organizations such as Mandai Wildlife Group and Acres, as well as from news reports and social media.

This is the first time such a database has been created for the Sunda pangolin in Singapore, and researchers hope it can be replicated for other species here.

To protect the animals, the database containing the GPS coordinates of every pangolin sighting is not made publicly available.

In total, the researchers were able to collect 482 records of pangolins, most of which date from 2011.

Mammalogist Marcus Chua of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum told The Straits Times that the increased sightings could indicate a rise in the population of this scaly mammal, although further studies would be needed to definitively confirm this. No studies have been conducted to conclusively determine the current pangolin population in Singapore.