❤︎ Pangolin Fun Facts ❤︎

Posted on June 16 2021

❤︎ Pangolin Fun Facts ❤︎

What is a pangolin??? Well I am super pumped you asked ❤︎❤︎❤︎!!! 

A pangolin, often known as a scaly anteater 🐜🐜🐜, is a totally uber cute 😊😍 mammal from Africa 🌍 and Asia 🌏 that is covered in these super cool 😎 plate-like scales, think ankylosaurus 🦖, except it's a mammal 🐶 and defs not a reptile 🐍. Its cool scales are like armour, and when this cute guy is threatened, he can roll up into an almost impenetrable ball ⚽ and his scales have super sharp edges 🗡, that are so sharp, they can cut through human skin 🗡! So if he does get caught, he thrashes about in an attempt to cut 🗡 his captor. He can also release a disgusting stinky smell (a bit like a skunk 🦨 ) to defend himself (or to mark his territory) if needed 😉.

Pangolin scales are made of keratin, which is the same stuff rhino 🦏 horns, baleen whale 🐋 teeth, claws 🐻 and our own hair and nails are made of. The scales cover the pangolin’s entire body, except for his soft, tender underside, and they make up like 20% of the pangolins body weight. 

Although they are often called scaly anteaters 🐜🐜🐜 and like anteaters 🐜🐜🐜, pangolins are insectivores (meaning they eat insects such as ants 🐜🐜🐜,), they aren’t actually related to anteaters or sloths or armadillos, they are more closely related to true carnivores like cats 🐱, dogs 🐶 and bears 🐻. 

The smallest pangolin species, the African black-bellied pangolin, usually grows to about 30 to 40 cm long and weighs 1.6 – 2.5 kg, that's about the size of a small bunny or pussy cat 🐱🐰. The biggest pangolin species, the giant pangolin, usually grows to about 1.4 meters long and weighs up to 33 kg, about the size of a smallish labrador dog 🐶🦮.

Pangolins can be bipedal, which means they can balance on their hind legs and walk, super cool right 😎? Although they have cute little stumpy legs with long claws on their front paws, pangolins can run weirdly fast (up to 5km/hr), and are able to swim 🐠🤔. Some species live in trees 🌳 and have prehensile tails, meaning they have a tail that can grasp or hold things, and this helps them to climb trees 🌳 and hang from branches. Other species are totally terrestrial (they stay on the ground) and dig nests and burrows. 

Pangolins usually like to hangout on their own and come out at night ⭐. They are super secretive little guys, which makes it hard for scientists to learn about them and help protect them, and there are still lots of mysteries about them. They don’t have the best eyesight 👓👁, their eyes are quite small, so they rely a lot on their sense of smell and hearing. Pangolins don’t reach maturity 💕 until they are 2 years old and usually they will only have one baby per brood. Mothers will protectively roll around their babies when they are sleeping 💤 or when they are threatened. When their babies are old enough to leave the den/nest/burrow, they ride around on the base of their mother's tail while she forages for insects 🐜🐜🐜,, sooo cute 😊!!!

Pangolins totally have an insatiable appetite 😱😱😱, its estimated they can eat 70 million 🐜🐜🐜 insects in a single year!!! To help prevent all those crazy insects attacking them when they are eating, pangolins have really cool special muscles that let them close up their ears and nostrils!!! They also have special mouth muscles that stop insects escaping once caught 😉! Pangolins don’t have any teeth 🤔, instead they will eat small pebbles 💎 that help grind the stuff in their stomachs (similar to birds 🐦 swallowing pebbles 💎 to help grind up food in their gizzards). To help the pebbles 💎 grind food up in their stomachs, they also have these weird spine/horn 😈 protrusions (sticky out bits) that point inwards inside their stomachs. 

To catch all those crazy little insects, pangolins have super duper sticky saliva coating their tongue and they have super duper long tongues 😛😛😛. Their tongues can be over 40cm long (for some species that's longer than their entire body) 🤔😱, their tongue is so long, it starts in their chest and is about 0.6cm thick 😛😱! These adorable little guys are just so cool 😎, I totally love them
❤︎! 

In total there are 8 different species of pangolin, 4 African Species (White-Bellied Pangolin, Giant Pangolin, Ground Pangolin and Black Bellied Pangolin) and 4 Asian species (Chinese Pangolin, Sunda Pangolin, Palawan Pangolin and Indian Pangolin). 

Unfortunately pangolin populations are declining 😭, and species classification ranges from vulnerable to critically endangered 😭. Pangolins biggest threat is us 😭!!! Pangolins are illegally hunted for human consumption, fashion, traditional medicines and cultural traditions and rituals 😭😭😭 And they are one of the most trafficked mammals worldwide 😭😭😭!!! In Africa, pangolins are eaten as bushmeat and used in traditions and rituals, but the primary demand source for pangolins is in China and Vietnam. In China and Vietnam, adult and fetus pangolin flesh is a delicacy, while the scales, organs, blood and other parts are used in traditional medicine and fashion. Because pangolin numbers have become depleted in Asia, poachers have started to hunt African pangolins to meet demand. From August 2000 to July 2019 around 895,000 pangolins were trafficked globally 😭😭😭!!!

The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2016, gave pangolins the highest level of protection 🥳🥳🥳. In early 2020, as the pandemic was hitting everyone, pangolins were accused 😔 of being an intermediary host for COVID-19. Being accused turned out to be a really good thing for pangolins, because it put the spotlight on pangolins and encouraged the Chinese government to increase protection of the Chinese Pangolin species to the highest level 🥳🥳🥳, closing loopholes that allowed it to be consumed and scales to be used in traditional medicines! Laws and protections are totally amazing, but unfortunately they won’t stop poaching 😔 ! To stop the demand for pangolins and pangolins being killed and trafficked, a lot more needs to be done! 

At the end of this post, I’ve listed all the places I sourced info from. A bunch of these places include info on ways we can help pangolins and places we can donate (such as WWF, Save Pangolins, World Animal Protection, IUCN Pangolin Specialist Group and Born Free). 

Some of the most important things we can do are: 

  1. Spread awareness, information and knowledge about this amazing species - tell everyone about them, knowledge is power!!!
  2. Learn everything we can about these cute little guys and support research, education programs and conservation efforts
  3. DON’T buy any pangolin products or anything containing pangolins - say no to pangolin medicine, wine, jewellery, scales and leather
  4. DON’T eat pangolins or anything containing pangolins
  5. Report all wildlife crimes - poaching, products containing illegal wildlife and businesses and restaurants selling food or products containing illegal wildlife. 
    Check out all the info sources below for lots more info! Watch vids, check out cute pics, learn as much as you can about these amazing animals and share your knowledge with everyone!!! Because the more we all know, the more we can help protect these gorgeous little guys ❤︎❤︎❤︎

    ❤︎ Tiff xx  ❤︎
     
    Don't forget to be social 
    ❤︎ Instagram  ❤︎ Facebook  ❤︎ Pinterest  ❤︎

      More Posts