COLLEGE STUDENTS FIND A MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER IN THEIR DORM BUT REALIZE THAT IT ACTUALLY NEEDED THEIR HELP

 

In this world we live in, there is such a large variety of fauna. If you travel across the seas, you will realize that every region has some animals that are restricted to that area. Some animals are kept at home by families too. And more than 350 million animals are taken home to be sold too. The illegal practice rakes in over $19 billion each year for smugglers. This has become a major issue…

Fighting For Animals

We all know that so many animals are constantly in danger. There are a variety of animals that need the saving grace of humans as other humans have decided to play a villain. It has become difficult to get people to help animal as it is such a taxing job. However, there comes a time when some people go out of their way to do good for the sake of animals, to return them back to the wild.

Significant Time

So in this story, the topic of saving an animal from an unfortunate incident takes place where a very unexpected hero comes to the rescue. Back in the month of November 2016, the students of Residence Hall 7 studying in the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore were nearing the end of their course. They did not realize that this would turn out to be such a significant time in their life.

No Need For Additions

So as they prepped themselves for the future, these students did not need any distraction from wherever. There was absolutely no need for them to get engaged in any other activity except emerge themselves in their books. In their dormitory common room, these students had their hands full with their studies so an addition to their burden would be unnecessary.

Light Seeping In

So as they were preparing to get themselves ready for exams and perhaps for a bright future, the students did not indulge in other outdoor activities. They were mostly with their books, engaged in their academic efforts. However, early morning, the students who went inside the common room saw the light was passing through their door.

Something Unexpected

When these students went into the common room, they were a little confused because the usually dim room had light pouring through. When they entered the room to check, they saw two huge holes that had been chipped through the door. And of course, they wondered why this could be, they were shocked. And when they looked around, they found something that did not belong there.

Checking The Room

So, to see that there was such a huge hole on their door made them a little upset and curious too. What could have been the cause of this? So when the students went inside the room carefully, they had a few guesses as to what these holes were here for. They had hoped that these holes were not chipped away by some invasive animal.

A Strange Creature

When they took a close look at the door, they realized what had chipped these holes on their wooden door. But, when they laid eyes on the creature that apparently made this mess, they had to scratch their heads. Among the untidy broken-off door pieces, they could see an animal curled up, it was an unusual animal. So what could it be?

Who Was The Culprit?

So as soon as they saw that there was an animal right next to the door, they already knew the cause for all of this. Since they could tell that this was a scared animal, the students automatically knew that there were two options for them. They could either call the people who would able to help the animal in distress or make so much money by selling it.

Two Options

They made a closer inspection of the animal and could then identify what kind of animal it was. Since they were not animal experts, they clearly did not know what to do with this intruder in their house. And they knew that they could get a lot of benefits monetarily because this animal was worth a lot if they could sell it to the right people.

Money Making

So that brings us to the next question. What kind of animal was it that had made such a mess of the common area door? Well, the sacred animal that was lying among the mess of the door chunks was, in fact, a pangolin. And why would it be worth anything then? Well, it turns out this animal actually one of the most popular trafficked animals ever.

Multiple Uses

Where do they sell these animals and what are they useful for? Well you see, countries such as China use each part of the pangolin for several purposes. They are sought after because they can be used for designer clothes, even for meats, and traditional remedies. And we can already guess that all these item can be sold and bought with an expensive price.

Beneficial

So how much do these animals cost in the market? Well, if you were to sell one, a single pangolin are usually bought on the black market for about $1,000. These college students could actually benefit from this because let’s face it, this price is not a small amount for a college student. A grand can do a lot and they would make good use of it.

An Endangered Species

Since there are so many smugglers and sellers of animals like the pangolin, they have quickly died down in number. This could clearly be because these animals can be sold for such a price. And yes indeed, the pangolins face critical endangerment. There are around 100 of these animals that can be found in Singapore. So why was one there in the college property?

Making The Right Choice

So after examining the weird animal in their common room and learning about its value in the black market, the students had to make a choice. Were they going to sell it or would they be okay with looking for help for the poor animal? The kindhearted students ultimately came up with a decision to look for someone to help the animal and not opt for the cash.

Calling For Help

After taking to the internet to look for an expert who can help with their situation, the students found a number that could be of help. And they dialed the number of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres). What was this? Well, this is the organization that came rushing before 10 in the morning to help the pangolin and see what can be done.

Experts Rush

So as soon as the organization heard that this situation involved a pangolin, they knew they had to hurry up. They sent experts from ACRES who came to rescue the pangolin who had supposedly been found in the dorm room of the students. It got lost finding its way into Singapore city which is full of sewage pipes, tall buildings, and the car packed highways.

Their Main Concern

And after they placed a call for help for the pangolin, the students felt a little better knowing that it would be in safe hands now. And the goal of the ACRES folks was to immediately get the pangolin back to its place of dwelling. They needed to give the poor animal a comfortable environment because they were certain it might have endured a lot.

Health Check

So when the animal experts reached the student’s dorm room, they immediately got to the action. They first had to check whether the animal was in a good shape or not. After learning that it was in an okay state the next thing they did was look for a place for the little guy. And right after, these people brought the animal to a forest that was not far from the university’s dorm rooms.

What Was There?

So where did they take the pangolin to? Well, nearby the university premises, there were “a lot of fallen tree trunks and rotting logs,” ACRES group director Kalai Balakrishnan explained, “There will be termites here, ants for him.” Since there was no way they could measure how long the animal had been without food or water, they were racing.

Out of The Crate

The pangolin must have felt so lost and helpless when it found itself amidst the skyscrapers and cars in the city. Knowing this, the ACRES workers took the pangolin out to the forest and released it from the crate they had kept it in. And the frightened animal then took its time processing the world around it. It was scanning what and where it was…

Waiting For Its Reaction

So the only thing that these people could do now was to wait for how the pangolin reacted. They had no means to communicate with it or ask how it was feeling, so they just tried whatever they thought would work. They took time to wait so that the pangolin could make its choice… So how would it behave? Has it lost its will to live and go on or not?

Running Away

And so, after a few moments, the little pangolin came out of the crate. Well, the poor distressed animal did not just come out, it actually took off running away as quick as possible! We certainly hope it did not get lost or find its way back into the college premises again… This was such a moment of relief because now the pangolin was back to where it belonged. This was more meaningful than what everyone involved has anticipated…

A Widespread Impact

Since we already mentioned that pangolins are an endangered species, this was a moment that called for some rejoicing. Since the thoughtful students ended up calling ACRES, their action did more for pangolins as a whole, even more than they could have ever imagined. Dr. Sonja Luz was able to explain just how necessary and important the students’ decision was for the pangolin family…

An Interesting Discovery

So since there were just over a hundred pangolins in Singapore alone, the need to stop smuggling or selling them was crucial. And the students did the right thing by asking for help and protection for the obviously scared animal. And by the month of September, 2 years had passed after the pangolin was discovered in the college. Dr. Luz then came up with an interesting project.

Her Finding

So Dr. Luz then took up a project in Singapore and made a remarkable realization. So what did she find out then? Well, her project revealed and recognized the importance of placing the pangolins back in the jungle. The students helping release the pangolin back to its natural habitat had indeed led to an even bigger advantage for them on a wider scale too.

A Unique Project

But you see her project was not like ordinary. She had taken up the study of these endangered species so as to find ways to help increase their number or identify and reduce threat for these animals. And she found out that at the beginning of 2017, a local from Singapore found a young pangolin at a construction site near his house.

Naming The Pangolin

So when the resident found this pangolin, since it resembled a Pokemon, the rescuer decided to name the pangolin Sandshrew after the Pokemon character. If you have watched the cartoon show “Pokemon” growing, up, you will automatically know just why this would be the name of the animal. Sandshrews do in fact, look like these strange creatures.

A Pokemon

After the rescuer discovered the pangolin at the construction site, it was there at home, kept as a pet of sorts, And by May of 2017, Dr. Luz and her team heard about it. They caught word that Sandshrew the pangolin had been found and soon devised a study for the animal. This study would aim to uncover how pangolins would behave after they get released in the wild again.

The Main Aim

The unique thing that this study would do was to look at how the pangolin behaved when he was kept back in his natural habitat. The main aim of the project was to show how he readjusted. This point was something that the college-going pangolin had done without any supervision. There was no way to know whether the pangolin survived or not.

First Supervision

So even though it was definitely better for the pangolin to get back to its natural habitat instead of staying at the dorm or in the city, there was no surety if the animal survived or not. “This,” Dr. Luz explained, speaking about her project, would be “the very first documented case in the world where a hand-reared pangolin is being released back into the wild and tracked.”

Waiting For 2 Years

So for about 2 years, the had to put their experiment on hold because the had to wait for Sandshrew the pangolin to grow up large enough for it to wear an audio tracking device. If they released him right away, there would be no way to learn about or note down what happened in the wild. They would need to track the pangolin’s whereabouts.

Perfect Size And Weight

And so, after patiently waiting for 2 years to pass, by 2018, Sandshrew was now big enough and had reached peak mass. He was now a whopping 13 pounds. They had waiting months for this to happen and now the pangolin was a perfect size and weight for the radio device. The only thing to do now was to release it in the wild and see what happens.

One Thing To Note

After checking everything about the pangolin, the time finally came for this project to go full swing. However, there was one thing that Dr. Luz did. She made sure that she “gave him more time for the re-wilding process to disconnect from humans. He’s quite feisty now — he runs away from the keepers.” There was a lesser attachment that Sandshrew had for his rescuers.

A Means To Learn

Dr. Luz and her her colleagues could not wait to see what took place when they kept the pangolin back to where he originally came from. This project was a skipping step to see how to best protect pangolins and re-growing the population all over Singapore. The college students had helped with this when they called on ACRES to rescue the pangolin.

Her Hopes And Questions

Since pangolins were not at a point of getting extinct, Dr. Luz knew that they had to learn and get a better means to help save more pangolins. She had high hopes that Sandshrew would provide the experts some data and information regarding several conservation questions like where the breeding populations are and how could urban planners help in saving them?

Dr. Luz’s Biggest Fear

After some time, the doctor and her coworkers freed Sandshrew and made sure he was under 24-hour watch. Since he had not been exposed to the wild for such a long time, they had to make sure he was not afraid or a victim of a kidnapping in the wild. Still, Dr. Luz’s biggest fear was that he might be kept in “the wrong habitat” because that could be fatal.

For The Pangolins

Up until now, what happened to Sandshrew and the pangolin of NTU’s whereabouts are unknown. But we are certain that the two of them are happy to be in their natural habitat. It is heartwarming to learn that both the college students and Dr. Luz all saved a pangolin’s life. We hope more people like these exist and that pangolins can cross the endangered species line and multiply healthily.