We’re pushing up a near-sheer slope of thorny rattan palms on a carpet of rotting orange leaves crawling with bugs. In the dark, I’m endlessly snagged and scratched. I’m so tired that a troop of Palawan bearded pigs could dance a polka in front of us and I’d never notice.
Earlier we saw a venomous pit viper, which our scout almost grabbed because it looked like a fat, green vine. We passed a tarantula pit, but didn’t provoke the owner. Then there are the hornets, tiny dive-bombers that congregate around headlamps, forcing us to stop and switch offuntil they buzz off. Suddenly our scout Joel, a native of the local
Tagbanua tribe, stiffens as his tracker dog Itiman barks, picking up a possible scent.
“We haven’t found a pangolin in six months,” he had confessed to us the day before.
But there are fresh pangolin claw marks on the trees around us. The three Marines behind me lock and load their M4s in case what Itiman has found isn’t a pangolin.
We slink forward, grinning in the dark. This could be it . . .
Pangolins, also called ‘scaly anteaters’ though they are not related to anteaters, get their name from the Malay word penggulung that describes their tendency to roll into a protective ball when threatened.
Their golden scales shield them from both predators and their ticklish prey. They can slurp down up to 20,000 ants or termites a night which they dig out of nests using backhoe-like claws and grab with a slithering sticky tongue. This diet is one reason they are often incredibly hard to keep in captivity.
Four species inhabit Africa: the giant ground pangolin, white-bellied pangolin, black-bellied pangolin and Temminck’s ground pangolin. Four more live in Asia: the Sunda pangolin, Chinese pangolin, Indian pangolin and Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis), found only in Palawan and classified as Endangered by the IUCN.
Denne historien er fra September - October 2019-utgaven av Action Asia.
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Denne historien er fra September - October 2019-utgaven av Action Asia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Policing Paradise
Palau’s President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr has established his country in the vanguard of global efforts on ocean conservation, in particular with the 2015 designation of much of its territorial waters as a marine reserve and no-take zone. Policing this vast area though remains immensely challenging.
The Not-So-Silent World
Human activities may be emitting levels of noise that harm marine life.
Once Were Warriors
A visit to the 2018 World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan is a surreal trip to a time and place where martial skills matter.
The Secret Life Of Pangolins
PALAWAN – IT’S 1AM AND MOST PEOPLE are safely in their beds. Instead I’m deep in the jungles of Palawan with an international team of researchers and a squad of Philippine Marines, searching for pangolins, the most illegally trafficked mammals on Earth.
Feast Your Senses
The Alta Via 1 is the classic Dolomite trail, bringing the peaks within arm’s reach as you hike between homely refugios and historic war-time fortifications.
China's Olympians Show The Way
WITH 40 RIDERS FROM 12 COUNTRIES, THE KTA made its second visit to the Desaru Coast in Malaysia with its Asia Pacific Hydrofoil Tour Series , which welcomes amateur and professional riders a like . Chinese Youth Olympians Haoran Zhang and Jingle Chen took first places in the Men’s and Women’s classes, while Korean veteran Soon Ho Kwon was crowned champion in the Masters.
China's Masses Warming To Snow
TWO YEARS AGO, CHINA opened the world’s largest indoor ski slope with two black runs, a blue run, snow play area and beginner slopes all served by chairlifts and magic carpets. Interestingly, it choose to build this behemoth in Harbin, where real snow piles high every winter and temperatures plunge low enough to host the annual International Ice and Snow Festival.
A Quieter, Cleaner Everest In Store?
FOLLOWING RECORD deaths during the Everest climbing season earlier this year, Nepal’s government and the climbing community are suggesting a new list of preconditions for any summit attempt.
A Life List Of Adventure
There’s a first time for everything. But some firsts matter more: experiences that are life-altering, that change perspective, build confidence and teach you about all you can do and all you can be.
Virtual Reality As A Travel Sales Tool
Virtual Reality As A Travel Sales Tool
