Abstract:
Malayan Pangolin (Manis javanica Desmarest) is threatened by illegal hunting and habitat
loss. Conservation efforts are difficult due to lack of information in various aspects. As
such, this study was conducted to collect information which could help in the Malayan
Pangolin conservation. Questionnaire and interview-based survey was used to obtain
hunter’s knowledge about pangolin. Stratified random-sampling techniques combined
with snowball sampling were utilized for this purpose. Results showed that the pangolins
mostly inhabit lowland primary forest (30.4%) and majority of the hunters (73%) chose
tracking method as their most preferred hunting technique. Determination of preferred
den and habitat utilization of the pangolins was conducted at pristine forest (Krau Wildlife
Reserve), secondary forest (Kampung Sungai Berua) and highly disturbed area (Pos
Pulat) by searching for active and non-active dens. Findings showed that hollow logs were
mostly preferred by the pangolins to be utilized as a den site (48.36%). Pangolins’ dens
were also found abundantly at KWR as compared to KSB and PP, thus prove that
pangolins have high adaptation ability and pristine forest serves important habitat for
them. For morphometric measurements, it was conducted by measuring head-body length,
tail length, total length and weight. Both male and female pangolins showed high
correlation between weight and total length with r=0.6342 and r=0.8535 respectively.
Similar trend was also shown for correlation between tail length and head-body length.
Parasitism is known as one of the cause contributing to the failure of pangolin species
husbandry in conservation projects worldwide. From the findings of this study, only one
parasite species was recorded on the Malayan Pangolin namely Amblyomma javanense,
with more male pangolins being infested by the ectoparasite (88.9%). However, the mean
intensity on the female pangolins was significantly higher (72) as compared to the male
pangolins (31.6). Overall, this research provided valuable and essential information on
the ecological, morphological, parasitological, and hunter’s knowledge of the Malayan
Pangolin in Malaysia. Nonetheless, more studies should be conducted in every aspect
because there is still much not known about the Malayan Pangolin.
