Protected species: Chin preparing to release the pangolin at a nearby forest.
KOTA KINABALU: The insistent barking of his dog alerted mechanic Benjamin Chin to a critically endangered pangolin stranded in his workshop.
Chin, from Sandakan, was working the late shift at 8pm on Thursday.
“I went to check and found the animal hiding beneath a wooden rack,” he said, adding that he noticed there were scars and wounds on the pangolin’s body.
Unsure of how to proceed, Chin contacted a friend at the Sabah Forestry Department, who advised him that the pangolin should be returned to its natural habitat.
Carefully, they placed the 10kg animal in a cage and drove to a nearby forest.
“When we lifted the pangolin out of the cage, I noticed that its eyes got ‘teary’. It could be a sign of distress,” he said.
Once on the ground, the pangolin quickly moved towards the forest, briefly climbing a tree before disappearing into the foliage.
Chin and his friend ensured the pangolin didn’t reappear before returning home around 11pm.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Soffian Abu Bakar, when contacted, said that wildlife must be handled with care.
These protected species should not be released to nearby housing or commercial areas to prevent them from being attacked by dogs or other animals.
As such, he said, people who come across such wildlife should call the department for help.
Pangolins are a totally protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.
Anyone found possessing a pangolin or any part of the animal can be fined between RM50,000 and RM250,000 and jailed between one and five years.
Poachers in Sabah often target pangolins for their flesh (as food) and scales (which is purported to have medicinal value despite no evidence supporting this claim).
