Critically endangered ‘kokam’ rescued in Tawi-Tawi

RARE AND VENOMOUS A slow loris is shown inside a cage. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A critically endangered Philippine slow loris (Nycticebus menagensis) was rescued by wildlife law enforcers in Tawi-Tawi province last week, after authorities acted on a tip from a concerned citizen.

A report from the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (Menre), which the Inquirer obtained, said the slow loris was seized by enforcers from the Philippine National Police and the environment ministry from an unnamed individual in Bongao town last Friday.

The enforcers were told that the animal, locally known as “kokam,” was already weak and malnourished when the handler allegedly rescued it from a farmer in Barangay Mandulan.

It remained unclear how the farmer came in possession of the wild animal, which is the only venomous mammal in the Philippines.

Authorities said its handler surrendered the slow loris without hesitation, after claiming that he was merely nursing the animal back to health before turning it over to Menre.

Classified as vulnerable

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the Philippine slow loris as vulnerable, along with the other slow lorises from the island of Borneo.

Under Philippine law, however, the Philippine slow loris is considered critically endangered. Hunters and poachers face up to four years in prison and a fine of up to P300,000. But no arrests were made during the recent rescue, after the handler surrendered the animal to authorities.

Emerson Sy, executive director of the Philippine Center for Terrestrial and Aquatic Research, said this is the second time that a slow loris was rescued from captivity in the last 10 years. The first rescue was in 2019 in Simunul town, also in Tawi-Tawi province.