The Amazing Pangolin

This is an animal that has an armored shell and a peculiar gait. It appears to be ready to start a medieval battle. Unfortunately for this poor creature, it has become the most trafficked animal on the earth even though it is illegal to trade with it in South Asia. The sales now account for up to 20% of the entire wildlife black market.

Many different campaigns have been set up to raise awareness of the pangolin’s plight. Among them are the Save Pangolins Organization and an app, Roll with the Pangolins, which has been endorsed by Prince William in his role as President of the United for Wildlife. Sir David Attenborough chose the Sunda pangolin, a species found in South East Asia, as one of his ten favorite species in order to attempt to save this animal from extinction. Still many people have not heard of the pangolin and so it is time to get introduced to it.

There are eight pangolin species from one extant family, Manidae that are still in existence worldwide. There are also some extinct species over their 80 million year evolution. Four of these species are Asian – Chinese, Malayan, Indian and Palawan. The other species are African – Tree pangolin, Giant ground pangolin, Cape pangolin and Long-tailed pangolin.

When a pangolin sticks out its tongue it can be more than 40 cm long and since it begins deep in the chest cavity it can be even longer than the body. Pangolins have no teeth so they cannot chew but instead they have sticky tongues with which they collect insects, up to 70 million per year. The insects are ground up by stones and keratinous spines found inside of their stomachs.

Pangolins are the only mammals in the world that are covered in scales. Their scales are made of keratin which is the same material that our fingernails, rhino horns and bird talons are made of. The scales account for 20% of the animal’s weight. These scales are hard and meant to protect against other animal predators. In traditional Chinese medicine, these scales are dried and roasted to help relieve palsy, stimulate lactation and drain pus. Because of this pangolin scales go for more than $3,000 a kilogram on the black market and have also been known to be used to make coats.

The ground pangolin got its name from the Malay word “pengguling” which means “rolling up”. This refers to the animal’s defence mechanism of being able to roll up into a tight, nearly-impenetrable ball when it's being threatened. Unfortunately, this defence mechanism doesn’t work well with humans. When all rolled up the animal is easy to pick up and capture.

Pangolins have large, curved claws that give them the ability to grip onto overhanging tree branches and to dig through concrete. Arboreal pangolins, like the African long-tailed species, make their home in trees while others dig burrows that become so large that a human could stand up in one.

Besides humans, a pangolin’s main predators include tigers, leopards and lions. This is where their scales play a big part because once rolled up even a lion finds it hard to bite through.

It is possible that pangolins have a lifespan of twenty years in the wild since in captivity the oldest recorded pangolin lived for 19 years. These animals are rarely found in zoos since spending time in captivity brings on stress, depression and malnutrition for them. Due to this, it is difficult to know exactly how long pangolins live.

Once threatened the pangolin will roll itself up into a ball and if necessary will lash out with its tail. The scales along the tail can easily cut into a predator’s skin. They also emit a horrible smelling acid from glands near the anus but cannot spray the liquid-like skunks can.

It is most unfortunate that an estimated 100,000 pangolins are captured each year across Asia and Africa and then sent to Vietnam and China, where their meat and scales are sold. At present all eight pangolin species are featured on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature or IUCN Red List of animals that have been threatened with extinction.

Of all of the pangolin species only one, the long-tailed pangolin that is native to west and central Asia are usually active during the day. The other species are nocturnal and have very small eyes. This means they have poor eyesight and can locate termite mounds and anthills with their strong sense of smell and hearing.

Pangolin genders differ wildly in weight and are sexually dimorphic. Most of the male pangolins are up to 50% heavier than the females and the Indian species can reach 90%. They have no specific mating season and will attract the opposite gender by marking their territory with urine and then wait for the female to find them.

It appears that pangolins have a close relationship to the Carnivore family, a diverse order among which you’ll find hyenas, bears and wolves.