In March 2018, a lone Philippine pangolin was found wandering a golf course in Cavite, far from its native Palawan habitat – likely due the animal's escape from the country’s booming illegal wildlife trade. Despite being a protected species, pangolins in the Philippines continue to be poached and trafficked for their meat and use in traditional medicine, with penalties for offenders often proving too lenient to act as a deterrent. Between 2018 and 2019, authorities intercepted nearly 6,900 pangolins – more than in the previous 17 years combined – highlighting a sharp escalation in trafficking. In one 2019 raid, over a ton of pangolin scales was seized from a suspected smuggler with ties to China. TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trade monitoring network, warns that these seizures likely represent just a fraction of the total trade. Despite occasional successful rescues and increased law enforcement activity, the Philippine pangolin remains critically endangered, with population declines estimated at up to 95% over four decades.