Student rescues Palawan pangolin from stray dogs

• Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/29/17/look-student-rescues-palawan-pangolin-from-stray-dogs
• Thursday, April 6, 2017

By Cherry Camacho (ABS-CBN News)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY - A college student rescued an adult-sized pangolin in Barangay Luzviminda, Puerto Princesa City Tuesday.

Estrelieta Longakit, a marine biology student, said stray dogs in the area were attacking the pangolin.

She immediately turned over the pangolin to the custody of the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC), which identified it as a Palawan pangolin, known locally "balintong."

The balintong is endemic in Palawan and can usually be found in the mainland and in adjacent islands including Busuanga, Calauit Island, Coron, Dumaran and Culion.

The Palawan pangolin is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a threatened species.

Pangolins face daily threats of poaching and are losing their habitat due to illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming, and squatting.

Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act prohibits the sale, trade and collection of pangolins.