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Some 10 live critically endangered scaly anteaters (pangolin or balintong) were seized Friday from a fisherman moonlighting as an illegal wildlife trader in Barangay Liminangcong, Taytay town.

 

Balintong (Manis culionensis) resembles a reptile with neat scales and no teeth, and is only found in the Philippine province of Palawan.

 

It can be found in forests, grassland, and farmland. Balintong’s population concentration can be found in the areas of Palawan, like Busuanga, Culion, and Calauit, but they are in danger of extinction because of excessive hunting by people in these areas.

 

Balintong is often solitary and arboreal. This animal prefers to live above the trees rather than on the ground.

 

This species lives up to 20 years. Like the anteater, it has a circular body and a long snout and tail that are used to handle things.

 

The body is covered with tapered and dense scales that are brightly colored and made of keratin. Young Balintong have soft and non-bright scales that are hardened and stiff as they age. The nose and stomach are not covered with scales.

 

It has sharp nails on its leg and a long tongue full of sticky and spastic saliva. It usually weighs 1.8-2.4 kilograms and has a length of up to 176 cm.

 

The common foods are insects like ants and termites. It has a sharp sense of smell to find the colony of insects. It used large and sharp nails to destroy the house of the termites. It will bring out the tongue to catch the food.

 

When threatened, balintong protects itself as well as the child through rolling like a ball while holding its child inside the hard scales. It may also release a bad odor that turns off other animals. The well-known opponent of this animal is the python.

 

Balintong’s meat is a delicacy in Asia, especially in China. While its scales are used as a component in traditional medicine in Southeast Asia, they are also used as asthma medicines. Due to the constant hunting of people for its meat and scales, it is listed under the Near Threatened category.

 

It was thought before that this species is similar to the species Manis javanica. It was officially recognized that Balintong is a new species, with the help of Gaubert et al., in 2005. It is also called a halintong, baléke, and tanggiling. alarm. Philippine Cultural Education

 

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