Protect the Pangolin!!!

Pangolins are one of the MOST trafficked mammals on the planet but hardly anyone knows about them.

Although they look like reptiles, they are actually mammals! They eat mainly ants and termites which they detect by scent and can eat up to a staggering 23,000 insects a day!

They use their strong front claws to dig into nests and mounds and use their extremely long, sticky tongues (they can be as long as the pangolin itself) to get the insects. The tongue starts way back inside the body of the pangolin between its pelvis and its last set of ribs. When not in use, the tongue rests in a special pouch inside the pangolin’s throat. A special muscle closes their nostrils and ears to stop the insects attacking them. Stranger still, pangolins don’t have teeth but have spikes in their stomachs which work with small stones or sand they have swallowed to grind the food up. Being such prolific eaters means that pangolins are an important form of pest control, often eating insects that negatively impact on crop production.

Covered in tough scales they look a bit like pine cones and roll into a protective ball when threatened. They can also use the erect scales on their tails to lash out at predators – they also hiss, puff and expel a foul scent to defend themselves.

They have one baby a year which is called a ‘pangopup’.

The pangolin's main predators are leopards, hyenas, lions and humans. Over a million pangolins are believed to have been illegally captured and sold in the last decade alone. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in some Asian countries; some also believe that their scales can be used to cure a range of illnesses. They are also vulnerable to loss of habitat due to an increase in agriculture. In Africa they are eaten as bushmeat and used for traditional African medicine.

There has been no scientific evidence to suggest that pangolin scales have any medicinal benefit! There have been declining numbers in Asia, where the pangolins have suffered a 90% decrease over the last 20 years. Attention has now turned to African pangolins to supply illegal markets putting our ground pangolin in grave danger.

Anyone can try preventing the deaths of these wonderful creatures by supporting organisations or such. LOVE the pangolin and care for it!