SINGAPORE – A critically endangered pangolin was rescued unscathed after crawling into a washing machine near Bukit Batok on the morning of May 25.
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) had received a call from a resident about “an unusual animal” that had squeezed into the household appliance from below.
Its wildlife rescue officers advised the caller not to switch on the washing machine.
The rescue team took about 20 to 40 minutes to coax and free the pangolin from the washing machine, as the scaly mammals tend to grip onto surfaces, said ACRES chief executive Kalaivanan Balakrishnan.
“The pangolin did not sustain any injuries but was stressed after the rescue ordeal,” he said, adding that the animal will eventually be released into the wild.
While the 25-year-old wildlife charity has rescued animals from inside washing machines before, this is the first time it has rescued a Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) from the device.
“Sunda pangolins, like other wild animals such as monitor lizards, snakes and even civets, have been known to squeeze into tiny gaps and crevices to escape or hide,” Mr Kalai told The Straits Times.
He said the forest-dwelling Sunda pangolin, the only species of pangolin native to Singapore, likely came from a nature reserve, as the area it was found in is adjacent to one.
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