SEA-DISC Palawan Pangolin
PROTECT THE PALAWAN PANGOLIN
HOME
With layers of scales and paws made for digging, the pangolin is one of the most trafficked animals in the entire world. In the beautiful tropical Province of Palawan in the Philippines, the creature called the Palawan pangolin, or Manis culionensis, resides. They live in the shrublands and forests of the Philippine islands and selflessly provide services for their fellow animals. Living solitary lives, a Palawan Pangolin sighting is rare, to begin with, but these sightings have become more and more scarce due to their diminishing population. In only one year between 2018 and 2019, 6,894 pangolins were seized from illegal poaching operations (TRAFFIC, 2020). These seizures only uncovered a portion of the illegal trafficking business, however. More action needs to be taken in order to save the scaled creature that calls the Palawan Islands its home.
Photo Credits: Pangolin Picture- Gregg Yan
Forest Picture: Vyacheslav Argenberg
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Pest Control
Pangolins eat ants and termites and are known to eat up to 70 million insects a year! (Save Pangolins, 2019) If you think about it, only 100 pangolins can eat almost the entire world population's worth of insects in one year! Without the pangolin, their ecosystem would be overrun with small insects.
Feeds Others
They are predators, but they also provide food for the Asiatic Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus). Because of their scales, this is their only other predator aside from humans. (Andrew Helmsworth, 2021)
Soil Health
They are burrow makers, so their burrows help with the aeration of the soil. Without them, the trees and other plants wouldn’t be able to provide for the animals in the ecosystem. They are vital to the nutrient cycling in their ecosystem. (Herzl, 2021)
Phot Credits from Left to Right: Gail Shumwa, Bjorn Lardner, Jesus Zuniga
80%
Estimated decline between 2019 and 2040
85%
Population decline from 1980 to 2018
6,894
Pangolins seized from illegal businesses in one year
39
Seizure incidents discovered between 2001 and 2017
(Palawan Council For Sustainable Development Staff et al., 2020)
Who Are We?
We are a pair of students enrolled in Archie Williams High School who are a part of an academy called SEA-DISC (Students of the Environmental Academy Discovering Integrated Studies Curriculum). This academy is centered around the environment and the education and activism which goes hand-in-hand with it. We made this website to spread awareness about the Palawan Pangolin and how to save it.