SINGAPORE: A critically endangered pangolin was rescued unscathed after crawling into a washing machine near Bukit Batok on Monday (May 25) morning.
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) had received a call from a resident about “an unusual animal” that had squeezed into the household appliance from below.
Its wildlife rescue officers advised the caller not to switch on the washing machine.
The rescue team took about 20 to 40 minutes to coax and free the pangolin from the washing machine, as the scaly mammals tend to grip onto surfaces, said ACRES chief executive Kalaivanan Balakrishnan.
“The pangolin did not sustain any injuries but was stressed after the rescue ordeal,” he said, adding that the animal will eventually be released into the wild.
While the 25-year-old wildlife charity has rescued animals from inside washing machines before, this is the first time it has rescued a Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) from the device.
“Sunda pangolins, like other wild animals such as monitor lizards, snakes and even civets, have been known to squeeze into tiny gaps and crevices to escape or hide,” Kalai told The Straits Times.
He said the forest-dwelling Sunda pangolin, the only species of pangolin native to Singapore, likely came from a nature reserve, as the area it was found in is adjacent to one.
He declined to reveal further details about the release and location out of concern for its safety: “We do not want people to go and specifically look for these animals. As the Sunda pangolin is a critically endangered species, (such information) is even more sensitive.”
In 2023, two men were caught by the authorities over the sale of a pregnant pangolin via messaging app Telegram.
For selling a protected wildlife species, offenders face a fine of up to $50,000, jail for a maximum of two years or both.
In 2014, the Singapore Pangolin Working Group was formed to coordinate and drive the conservation of the elusive Sunda pangolin, as well as track sightings of the species to understand their population and behaviour.
Singapore’s pangolins are mainly killed by vehicles and habitat loss from development.
In 2024, a study initiated by Nature Society Singapore, which is part of the working group, found there has been an upward trend of the mammal venturing out of the Republic’s forests between 1996 and 2021.
The dead or injured pangolins were mostly recorded in central and western Singapore, close to forested areas where the nature reserves and water catchments are located.
Pangolins are thought to be the world’s most trafficked wild mammals due to the demand for their scales and meat.
Singapore logged its largest seizure of Asian pangolin scales so far in December 2025.
The sea cargo, estimated to be from more than 2,200 pangolins, was carried on a lorry travelling from Indonesia to Cambodia. It had been disguised as dried fish skin.
What to do if you see a pangolin
Observe it from a safe distance and do not approach it.
Don’t handle the animal. Pangolins are wild animals that have powerful claws that they can use to defend themselves when they feel threatened.
Going too close to a pangolin mother carrying a baby on her back can also cause the baby to fall off and result in the mother abandoning it.
If members of the public see a wild animal in distress, they should contact ACRES at 9783-7782 from 7am to 1am daily, or National Parks Board at 1800-476-1600.
Drivers near nature areas should keep to speed limits and slow down. The slow-moving pangolins are often injured or killed by vehicles when they stray too far from the forested areas onto roads.
The public can also contribute to the pangolin’s long-term survival by not purchasing any pangolin products, such as meat, scales, and medicinal products.
They can contribute to the nationwide effort to save pangolins by submitting their sightings to the Singapore Pangolin Working Group at this website. - The Straits Times/ANN
