• Mandai Wildlife Reserve
  • Bird Paradise
  • River Wonders
  • Singapore Zoo
  • English
    • English
    • 简体中文
    • 日本語
  • EN
    • EN
    • 简体中文
    • 日本語
    • My memberships
    • Update Profile
    • Logout
    • My memberships
    • Update Profile
    • Logout
  • Search
icon

You're now logged out!

Night Safari Night Safari

Buy Now
  • Things to Do
    • What's On
    • Activities
    • Presentations
    • Shopping
    • Dining
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Getting Here
    • Getting Around
    • Tips & Services
    • Night Safari Map
  • Animals & Zones
  • Education
    • Admission Rates
    • Resources
  • Memberships
    • Friends of Wildlife
    • Friends of Wildlife Plus
    • WildPass
    • Corporate Wildlife Benefits
  • Buy Now
  • Things to Do
    • What's On
    • Activities
    • Presentations
    • Shopping
    • Dining
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Getting Here
    • Getting Around
    • Tips & Services
    • Night Safari Map
  • Animals & Zones
  • Education
    • Admission Rates
    • Resources
  • Memberships
    • Friends of Wildlife
    • Friends of Wildlife Plus
    • WildPass
    • Corporate Wildlife Benefits
  • Mandai Wildlife Reserve
  • Singapore Zoo
  • River Wonders
  • Night Safari
  • Bird Paradise
  • Night Safari
  • Animals & Zones
  • Sunda pangolin

Sunda pangolin

Find me in
Fishing Cat Trail Leopard Trail
  • Quick Facts
  • Get to Know
  • On the Job
  • Let's Meet
  • Protecting Wildlife
  • You Might Also Like

Quick facts

Lifespan

Lifespan

7 years in the wild

More under human care

fruits

Diet

Ants and termites

Habitat

Habitat

Primary and secondary forest

range

Range

Southeast Asia

including Singapore

Share on

The Sunda pangolins

Finicky eaters

Finicky eaters

Due to their specialised diet of ants and termites, pangolins are notoriously difficult to care for. At first, our keepers tried to emulate the anteater diet – a porridge made from fruits, meat and mealworms.

As pangolins have no teeth, the tendons had to be removed from the meat before it was blended. Later, ground-up termite mounds were added. Most recently, the keepers have substituted the meat with ant eggs. Our pangolins are positively lapping this up.

Healthy poop, healthy pangolin

Healthy poop, healthy pangolin

One of the first things our pangolin keepers look out for in the morning is the poop. Healthy pangolins produce poop that is blackish and tubular. 8 out of our 10 pangolins have the bizarre habit of pooping in their water dishes, so extra dishes are provided for them.

Panjang, who was named for his long tail (‘panjang’ means ‘long’ in Malay), is one of them. Unfortunately, he sometimes misses the dish target due to the length of his tail!

Surprise, surprise

Surprise, surprise

This strange business might have to do with the fact that the pangolin is a confident swimmer. Not only does it swim well, it can scoot up a tree with surprising speed. Its prehensile tail works like a fifth limb.

The bottom tip of the tail is naked and helps it maintain its grip around branches and tree trunks. Which is why our keepers are ever-watchful when taking them out on walks. If they decide to scale a tree, it would be tough trying to get them to come down.

Share on

The keeper

Zoo keeper

Ade Kurniawan

Junior animal management officer
Zoo keeper

Ade Kurniawan

Junior animal management officer

Hi Ade, nice to meet you. So, how long have you been with the Night Safari (NS)?

I joined as a junior keeper in 2008. I was here for a year before I left Singapore to study zoology. During my holidays, I worked as a part time staff whenever I was back. I returned full time in 2014 as a Junior Animal Management Officer (AMO). I now lead the Fishing Cat Trail team which looks after 26 species, including the Sunda Pangolin.
Zoo keeper

Ade Kurniawan

Junior animal management officer
How has your role changed?
Zoo keeper

Ade Kurniawan

Junior animal management officer

How has your role changed?

While the bulk of my time is spent looking after our animals, my new duties involve more administrative work as well as ensuring that new and better ways of managing our animals are implemented using evidence-based methods.
Zookeeper

Ade Kurniawan

Junior animal management officer
Do you have any advice for budding zookeepers out there?
Zookeeper

Ade Kurniawan

Junior animal management officer

Do you have any advice for budding zookeepers out there?

While a degree in zoology, animal behaviour or other life science majors is advantageous, it is not entirely necessary. But if you choose to go down that path – do take up biology and chemistry in secondary school at the very least. Qualifications are just one part of the equation – you must have a genuine love for animals. You can gauge your interest in this field by joining the volunteer programmes at our parks or partaking in other wildlife/nature related activities in Singapore. Lastly, do note that zookeeping can be a rather dirty job (but don’t worry, we have showers here). It also involves working outdoors and requires a fair amount of physical labour. Not an easy feat due to our climate in Singapore!

The rescued pangolin

Share this video

✖
Share on
Meet Sudi, the rescued Sunda Pangolin. Play the video to find out how our vets and keepers work together to rehabilitate Sudi. 

Share this video

✖
Share on
Meet Stardust, the Sunda pangolin orphaned at such a young age. Watched how our keepers become a surrogated mother to Stardust.

Share this video

✖
Share on
Meet Berani, the Sunda pangolin who came to us with a very bad limped but through the perseverance and care of our vets and keepers, he grew strong and now looking forward to his daily walks. 

Together, we protect wildlife

Scaling up pangolin conservation

Scaling up pangolin conservation

The Sunda pangolin is the most heavily trafficked mammal in the illegal wildlife trade, and one of the most threatened species on this planet. But in Singapore, its main threat is another kind of traffic: the kind on roads. Over the years, we have funded research into topics ranging from its diet and genetics to how it navigates the urban landscape.

Various tracking methods including GPS and the use of sniffer dogs were tested. The learnings culminated in the establishment of the Sunda Pangolin National Conservation Strategy and Action Plan in 2018. We chair the Singapore Pangolin Working Group (SPWG), which is tasked to implement the strategy.

The IUCN Status

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

Rescued!

Rescued!

Sham, Senior Veterinary Nurse, and Dr. Charlene Yeong, Conservation and Wildlife Health Manager, attending to a rescued pangolin after an operation to fix a broken right femur. The pangolin was later named Berani. He continues to recover well under our care.

The IUCN Status

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.

DD

Data Deficient

Unknown risk of extinction

LC

Least Concern

At relatively low risk of extinction

NT

Near Threatened

Likely to become vulnerable in the near future

VU

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild

EN

Endangered

At very high risk of extinction in the wild

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

EW

Extinct in the Wild

Survives only in captivity

EX

Extinct

No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity

You might also like

The Wild Scoop
The Wild Scoop
East Lodge Trail
East Lodge Trail
Slow Loris
Slow Loris

Every visit to our parks comes with

Every visit to our parks comes with
Find out how, together, we're creating a better future for wildlife and the planet.

Opening hours

6.30pm to 12am (Last entry at 11.15pm)

We're open every day of the year.

Address

80 Mandai Lake Road
Singapore 729826

Stay Connected

  • TikTok-qr-code
  • Weibo-qr-code
  • WeChat-qr-code
  • Douyin-qr-code

About Mandai

  • Mandai Wildlife Group
  • The Mandai Family
  • Mandai Rejuvenation Project
  • Media Centre

Our Parks

  • Bird Paradise
  • Night Safari
  • River Wonders
  • Singapore Zoo

Get Involved

  • Volunteer
  • Support Wildlife
  • Partner With Us

Corporate

  • Corporate Wildlife Benefits
  • Corporate Packages
  • Events and Venues
  • Adoption Programme

Careers

  • We Are Hiring

Need Help?

  • Contact Us
  • FAQ
  • Announcements

© Copyright 2023, Singapore Zoological Gardens. All Rights Reserved.

Mandai Wildlife Reserve, Mandai Bird Paradise, Mandai River Wonders, Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Wildlife Reserves Singapore are copyrighted by and/or trade marks of Singapore Zoological Gardens (and/or its affiliate(s)) in Singapore and/or other countries, as the case may be.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Data Protection Policy