A Preliminary Survey of the Malayan Pangolin (Manis javanica Desmarest) from the
Terengganu National Park, Terengganu, Malaysia
Muhammad Hafiz Sulaiman, Wahizatul Afzan Azmi and Chong Ju Lian
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science & Technology, Universiti Malaysia
Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
*Corresponding author email address: julian@umt.edu.my
Abstract
The pangolin is a nocturnal, secretive and solitary animal found in Asia and Africa. In
Malaysia, the only pangolin species recorded is the Malayan Pangolin (Manis javanica
Desmarest) or locally known as Tenggiling. The Malayan Pangolin is totally protected by
Malaysian and international law but yet its population is showing a decreasing trend
worldwide including in Malaysia, which is triggered by habitat destruction and extensive
illegal hunting. Although the pangolin plays a major role in the forest ecosystem as the main
ant and termite predator, and is involved in nutrient cycling, it receives very little scientific
attention. Thus, a preliminary survey of the Malayan Pangolin was conducted during a
scientific expedition of the Environmental Research Group (ERG) of the Universiti Malaysia
Terengganu Special Interest Group (SIG) at the Terengganu National Park, Terengganu,
Malaysia from 28 to 30 April 2010 and from 14 to 17 October 2010. The survey aimed to
investigate the existence of the Malayan Pangolin in the Terengganu National Park primary
forest at through den observation and scratch mark left by the pangolin during foraging. This
fundamental survey is crucial to garner basic data of the pangolin as not much literature
regarding the ecological aspect of the Malayan Pangolin is avaliable in Malaysia. The survey
was conducted in mainland area namely the Gua Bewah and Tanjong Mentong trails during
daytime. As such, the survey confirms the existence of the Malayan Pangolin in the virgin
forest of Terengganu National Park as constituted by the scratch marks left by the Malayan
Pangolin.
Key words: Malayan Pangolin, Manis javanica, survey, Terengganu National Park