Pangolin

The term “pangolin” is derived from the Malay word “penggulung,” which means “one who rolls up.” When threatened, a pangolin will coil into a tight ball that predators cannot penetrate.

Pangolins are a collection of Asian and African mammals with strong scales that roll up into a ball to defend themselves and are tragically the world’s most extensively traded animals. They have small heads but big snouts and even longer tongues for sucking up ants from within ant nests, earning them the nickname “scaly anteaters” from some people.

Pangolin tails are coated with the same scale amour as the rest of their bodies, but they are extremely powerful—some pangolins live in trees and can use their tails as a fifth limb that is easily strong enough to carry their entire body weight.

Pangolin’s Scales

Carnivores are the pangolin’s closest relatives, yet pangolins are the only mammals with scales.

Except for the side of the face, the inner sections of the legs, the neck, and the belly, the majority of a pangolin’s head and tail are covered in horny, spiky, and overlapping scales. The scales, like hair, continue to develop throughout the animal’s life, however they are crushed down as it digs and burrows for food.

Pangolins are so well protected by their sales that only a few predators can kill them. Large cats such as leopards, tigers, and lions are normally the only predators capable of eating pangolins, but other strong creatures such as hyenas can occasionally break through.

However, it is very uncommon for a pangolin’s scales to be impenetrable, and a pride of lions would walk away from an undamaged pangolin after being unsuccessful for a while, letting the pangolin to trundle away to safety.

Pangolin’s unusual adaptations

One of the most remarkable adaptations to their ant-eating habits is the ability of pangolins to seal their ears and noses using powerful muscles, which protects them from ant attacks. What’s more unexpected is that pangolins use their noses to discover ants in the first place, therefore its nostrils are open when hunting and closed when feeding.

Indian pangolin

The Indian Pangolin is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

It is mostly found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

With a range that extends into two parts of Pakistan, the Indian pangolin has the greatest western distribution in Asia. It is distinguishable from other Asian pangolins by the size of its scales, which can grow to be far bigger than those of the Chinese, Sunda, and Philippines pangolins. It, like the Chinese pangolin, prefers a fossorial rather than an arboreal habitat and has considerably longer front claws than the Sunda and Philippine pangolins.

The Indian pangolin typically produces one child, however two have been documented. The gestation time is 65-70 days, which is substantially shorter than that of other pangolin species.

Although generally cautious, Indian Pangolins have been observed wandering into settlements and digging through concrete and into buildings.

Facts about Pangolins

Here are five facts about pangolins:

· Pangolins are the only animals on the planet with scales:

Keratin, the same substance found in rhino horn, is used to make the scales. Even lions can’t bite through them because they’re so tough. Pangolins can roll up into a near-perfect ball to defend themselves, hiding their faces and undersides.

· The tongue of a pangolin can be longer than its body:

A pangolin’s tongue may reach over 40cm in length when fully extended. Given that they lack teeth and so cannot chew, they may use their sticky tongue to capture insects, particularly ants, from within their nests.

· Pangolins have poor vision:

Pangolins have poor vision because their eyes are so tiny in comparison to the rest of their body. They do, however, have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, which comes in helpful while hunting for food.

· They can dwell in trees or on the ground:

Some pangolins live in trees, while others dig and live in ground burrows. Species such as the African long-tailed pangolin climb trees by gripping overhanging branches with their claws, while others use their claws to dig holes in the ground. Some of the discovered holes are so huge that a human could stand upright in them.

· Pangolins are classified into eight species:

Four of which are located in Asia and are known as Chinese, Philippine, Malayan, and Indian pangolins. The others, known as tree, huge ground, cape, and long-tailed pangolins, are located in Africa. Two of these species are on the endangered list.

Conclusion

Pangolins are hunted for meat, traditional medicine, and fashion items, especially in China and Vietnam. The large-scale illicit trade in Asian pangolins is dramatically reducing their population, and pangolin trafficking is becoming a massive and illegal enterprise. All eight species are threatened with extinction and are classified as vulnerable, endangered, or severely endangered on the IUCN Red List.