Save The Pangolins: Ren’s Science Report

Ren is a 7 year old boy and a Grade 1 student this year. Grade 1 students in his school were given specific topics to report in front of the class  with their Science teacher. The kids’ families were also invited to watch and support the young reporters.

Ren was assigned to report about an endangered endemic animal in the Philippines.

There are a lot of endemic animals in our country and I presented them all to Ren.  He doesn’t know most of it, but he got interested with the Pangolins because there are some characteristics of this animal that is similar with his pet “Sparky” the hedgehog.

I like it also, because I am not familiar with this animal and I want to know more about it.  I just learned about the Philippine Pangolins when I have talked about Ren’s topic to a co-blogger who resides in Palawan. She mentioned to me that someone from their area is an advocate of the Pangolins Conservation and that animal is endangered already.  She gave me the name of the contact person in case I needed to ask her some questions.  I did contact her and requested her to be interviewed by Ren. Unfortunately because of the busy season, she can’t say yes to us.

So, we just did some research and finally came up with a summary.

The Philippine Pangolins as I have mentioned is not widely known that exist here in our country. They are already endangered and only a few know that they even exist.  We would like to help and increase awareness about this animal that is why I am sharing Ren’s report here.

Here is Ren’s transcript of his report:

Hi! I am Ren and I am here to tell you a story.  It is about an animal that is not widely known that exist here in the Philippines.

Once upon a time, a scaly ant-eating animals were peacefully living in the forest of Palawan.

There are 8 classes of this animal and the one endemic in our country is called the Philippine Pangolin also known as “Balintong”.

1. Cape Pangolin or Temminck’s Ground Pangolin 2. Chinese Pangolin 3. Sunda Pangolin or Malayan Pangolin 4. Philippine Pangolin 5. Giant Ground Pangolin 6. Indian or Thick-tailed Pangolin 7. Tree Pangolin or African White-bellied Pangolin 8. Long-tailed or Black-bellied Pangolin

They can only be found in the island of Palawan. They are carnivores (or insectivores) because they only eat ants and termites. They stick the ants to its long tongue using its saliva.

They use their long snouts to look for insects.

They help control the population of insects.

They are nocturnal like my pet “sparky” the hedgehog which means they are awake at night and asleep during the day.  Just like hedgehogs, they also roll into a ball when they feel danger.

Their name came from a malay word “penggulong” which means something that rolls up.

Sadly, the Philippine Pangolins are now endangered just like many Asian Pangolins.  People are hunting them for their meat and scales.

Their scales are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine. Their meat is a high end delicacy in China.

They are also losing their natural habitat because of illegal logging. Their population is now getting lower and lower everyday, that is why they are now endangered.

People in the provinces are hunting them because they can be sold in the Black Market for a large amount of money.

I hope that the Philippine Pangolins will be saved from extinction and would have a “they live happily ever after” ending.

As a Grade 1 student and with the help of my mom and dad, I gave out flyers around various malls and other places to increase awareness of the Philippine Pangolins.  Please watch this video:

Let’s put an end to danger for our endemic animals like the Philippine Pangolins so that they will not be endangered anymore.

Thank You!

Here is a copy of Ren’s infographic flyer that he gave out around the malls and other places. This was created by his dad (noelevz.com)

According to CNN, The pangolin is one of the most trafficked mammal that we never heard of (read this report- http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2014/04/opinion/sutter-change-the-list-pangolin-trafficking/index.html)

The Duke of Cambridge Prince William also supports the conservation of Pangolins. The Duke has teamed up with the makers of Angry Birds in a bid to save the pangolins.

This year, World Pangolin Day will be celebrated on February 21, 2015.  You can read more information about Pangolins in this site- pangolins.org

HELP SAVE THE PANGOLINS!!!

Disclaimer: Pictures of the Pangolin are not mine. All rights reserved by their respective owners.