In Singapore, seeing wild animals occasionally make their way among humans is not that unusual, and fortunately, many people go out of their way to protect them and make sure they’re safe. This is exactly what happened when a pangolin found its way into an MRT station near Bukit Timah recently.
On April 14, Ms Purnima Ralhan posted photos and a video of pangolin on the Nature Society (Singapore) Facebook page. The little creature can be seen walking up the stairs, and then along a corridor, appearing to follow a scent of sorts.
“Pangolin at the MRT station today . He came out of nowhere! Thankfully- he wandered back into the bushes unharmed,” Ms Purnima wrote.
She saw the creature on Apr 14 as she was eating on some stairs at the MRT, and photographed it while it climbed, she told Mothership.
Out of concern for its safety, she, and later two others, followed the pangolin to make sure it was okay. Ms Purnima told Mothership that she had to use her foot to get the pangolin to steer clear of the escalator.
It later left the building and made its way to some bushes.
Commenters on the Nature Society (Singapore) Facebook page were thrilled at the sighting.
Many netizens were thankful for Ms Purnima’s care and thoughtfulness.
Others quipped that the pangolin was ready for an adventure or a mission and wanted to take the MRT.
Singapore is home to the Sunda pangolin or Malayan Pangolin and is mainly found in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. They are shy and nocturnal animals, which makes it so surprising that one was found at the MRT.
“The Sunda pangolin is listed as ‘critically endangered’ in the Singapore Red Data Book 2008. In Singapore, the pangolins face the greatest threat from rapid urbanisation that resulted in massive habitat loss.
The slow-moving pangolins are also often injured or killed by vehicles when they stray off too far from the forested areas onto roads,” the NParks website says. /TISG
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