Pangolin rescued in Pasay

MANILA, Philippines - An endangered Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis) was rescued by a retired government employee and his son in Barangay 84, Pasay City yesterday.

Florian Catipon, 56, initially thought there was a burglar walking on the roof of their house along Mariquita street at around 2 a.m.

“I then asked my son Jose to open the windows and turn on the lights to scare away whoever was on the roof,” he said.

Catipon said he and his son went to the roof. By the light of his mobile phone, Jose saw the animal as it tried to enter the ceiling of an adjacent house that the Catipons also own.

“We thought it was an aswang (ghoul) with its sharp claws and appearance. It was our first time to see a pangolin,” said Catipon.

Mundita Lim, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau director, said the rescued pangolin’s poor condition made it apparent that it was kept for slaughter.