KOTA KINABALU: The Discovery Centre at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort and Spa, hosted a talk on “Pangolin, species that need saving” by award-winning Conservationist, Elisa Panjang, a Sabahan in conjunction with World Pangolin Day.
The talk was attended by various wildlife units, University Sabah Malaysia, Sabah Tourism Board, members of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), schools, individual wildlife lovers and guests of the resort.
Elisa Panjang, one of the few Malaysian studying the Sunda Pangolin, is doing her doctorate on pangolin ecology and behaviour studies. She holds a Bachelor degree in Conservation Biology and Master in Ecological Processes as well as a Diploma in Civil Engineering. She is also a recipient of the Houston Zoo Wildlife Warrior Award 2017, and was among five wildlife conservationists from Africa, Asia and South America named for the award.
Elisa Panjang,
The afternoon started with activities for school children from SK Lapasan and SM St James Tenghilan. These two schools are part of the Resort’s Embrace program, under the group Shangri-La Care for People’s Project. The school children took part in a guided walk through the nature trail and created a collage of Pangolin using the leaves collected from the ground.
The Discovery Centre, which is part of the Rasa Ria Reserve leads the group’s educational work – Sanctuary, Shangri-La’s Care for Nature project, which was established in 1996 to protect an ecological asset and endangered species endemic to Sabah. As the entry point to the Rasa Ria Reserve, the centre serves as an educational hub for guests to learn about the indigenous long-tailed macaques, western tarsiers, bear cats and famous huge-eyed slow loris, as well as over 60 species of birds and butterflies a spectrum of native plants. –pr/BNN
