Meet the pangolin: amazing facts about Earth’s unique scaley mammal

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• REPORT SUSPICIOUS CONTENT ONLINE
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• What is a pangolin?
• More facts about pangolins

Alexander: Ever sitting with a friend over a coffee or dinner wishing you just had something fun and new to share? Well next time skip any small talk and why not drop some wild facts to get a conversation started about an animal you or they might not have ever heard of.

This is conservation conversation starters, and let's get to know the pangolin.

So far be it for me to assume what you might already know about pangolins. So I pulled some of the top Google searched questions about pangolins to help me out here. But before I dive into those, let's do a quick meet and greet with our pangolin friends.

They look like this cross between an artichoke and something out of Pokemon. They're adorable, right? Personally, I don't know who wouldn't consider that to be a charismatic animal? Just look at how they walk and move. They're hilarious.

Pangolins are scaly from tip to tail. They're solitary and primarily nocturnal animals that are easily recognized by that armor of scales.

There is no doubt they're one pretty unique animal that we all should know more about. So let's do it.

What do pangolins eat?

Pangolins eat ants, termites, and larva, and are often known as a scaly anteater because of their preferred diet. Because they have no teeth, pangolins [00:01:00] pick up food with their sticky tongues, which can sometimes reach lengths greater than the animal's body. Not that this is an anatomically correct pangolin, but you get the idea.

Each pangolin can consume enough termites to protect over 40 acres of land from termite destruction.

Who are pangolins related to?

Though many think of them as reptiles. Pangolins are actually mammals. They are the only mammals wholly covered in scales. Pangolins closest relatives are carnivores, which they diverged from almost 80 million years ago. However, more research is needed to better understand their evolution and taxonomy so that we can better protect them.

And with the discovery of possibly two new species in just the last five years, that signals that more could be out there waiting to be discovered. And time will define just how many pangolin species exist. And once we know that, we can be more sure that we are indeed protecting them all.

How many species of pangolin are there?

There are currently eight species of pangolin recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, recent research indicates that there could be more pangolin species.

Four species live in Africa. The black-bellied pangolin, the white-bellied pangolin, giant ground pangolin, and the [00:02:00] Temminck's ground pangolin.

The four other species are found in Asia, the Indian pangolin, the Philippine pangolin, the Sunda pangolin, and the Chinese pangolin. But excitingly, in recent years, two new species have been discovered. The Asian mysterious pangolin, its scientific name, is actually Manis Mysteria, which is pretty epic and sounds like something out of the Avengers.

And the Indo-Burmese pangolin. Super cool! But there's still so much we'd have to learn about them to understand their genetic and taxonomic differences to other Asian pangolin species.

Who are pangolin predators?

There's actually many top predators that prey upon pangolins. But pangolins are always up for a challenge.

Big cats like lions, tigers, and leopards and other carnivores like hyenas go after pangolins. Even pythons. But pangolins have a pretty cool defense mechanism that makes them hard to catch, and it all has to do with that scaly armor.

But the sad truth is that their current top predator are actually humans, which we'll get into in a bit.

How do pangolins protect themselves?

A startled pangolin will cover its head with its front legs, exposing its scales to any potential predator. If touched or grabbed, it will roll up [00:03:00] completely into a ball while the sharp scales on its tail can be used to lash out. And if under threat, a pangolin will immediately curl into a tight ball and use their sharp scaled tails to defend themselves.

How big is a pangolin and how much do they weigh?

Their weight can vary, but they're pretty light, probably weighing around four to seven pounds. But sadly, their smaller size actually works against them in that they're pretty easy to catch and carry, which has only contributed to the ease of their poaching, which we'll also get to that soon.

What do pangolins do?

It's actually a really good question. Little is known about this elusive animal, and it's difficult to estimate how many there are in the wild, and even if there are more species. But they're solitary and reclusive animals, so they probably like being left alone. They're night owls and are active at night.

Uh, depending on the species, they might like to dig deep burrows in the ground or climb a tree. They keep themselves busy. And when pangolin mothers look after their young and nurse their babies, they'll keep them close and often have the babies hold onto their tails while they forage, and they'll even shield them in a protective ball when asleep or under threat.

Where do pangolins live?

All known species of pangolins are [00:04:00] found on two continents, Africa and Asia, with four living in Africa, and four plus those two recently discovered new species of pangolin living in Asia.

But they're not really picky when it comes to where they specifically call home in their preferred habitats.

They can live in a variety of places, including forests, to savannahs, to grasslands, to even cultivated areas like farmland, just as long as they have their favorite food, and that's around, which is ants and termites.

Why are pangolins the most trafficked mammal, and why are pangolins endangered?

Yes, pangolins sadly are the most trafficked mammal in the world with most of that current trafficking, likely being African species smuggled to Asia, and data from 2019 indicated that a pangolin is poached or illegally killed or captured every three minutes, and more than 1 million pangolins were trafficked over a 10 year period.

West and Central Africa is a hotspot for pangolin poaching, and an estimated 8.5 million pangolins were taken from the wild between 2014 to 2021.

Pangolins are also in high demand in countries like China and Vietnam. Why? Well for a few reasons. Their meat is considered to be a delicacy, even though consumption of that can bring a lot of risks to public health and the potential for [00:05:00] disease spillover.

And pangolin scales are used in traditional medicine to treat a range of ailments like asthma and arthritis. But there is also demand in the Americas and the United States for their skins used to make leather products like boots, bags, and belts. And despite the species being protected under international laws, there is still growing international illegal trade in pangolins, which has increased in recent years because of a growing demand and online trade that is facilitating the connection between buyers and sellers anonymously shipping to all parts of the world. And despite movement towards strengthened law enforcement and increased public awareness of their protected status, the illegal wildlife trade is still the greatest threat to pangolins. And what we know represents only a tip of the trade. Seizures that have happened that we know could represent as little as 10% of the actual volume in pangolins in the illegal wildlife trade.

What are pangolin scales used for and why are they so valuable?

So this connects to the previous question actually, and building on what I previously had mentioned. Pangolin scales are made of keratin, so the same thing as what our hair and nails are made of. And Rhino horn actually. [00:06:00] But they're sought after for their perceived healing properties.

Pangolin scales are commonly used in traditional medicine practices across Asia. They've become popular products over time because they're thought to cure various illnesses and improve health by treating, uh, things like rheumatism and reducing swelling and helping mammary gland blockages. But it's this demand that has been the culprit, bringing pangolins to the brink of extinction.

However, there has been some recent hopeful and positive progress on their protection in this front. Since 2020, China increased protection for the native Chinese pangolin to the highest level, and they recently removed a traditional medicine containing pangolin ingredients from its latest Pharmacopoeia.

The Chinese Pharmacopoeia is the official standard for clinical prescriptions, so this removal reflects the country's stepping up to shift away from the use of wildlife in traditional medicine.

Can you own a pangolin?

No, you cannot. Nor should you want to.

All eight pangolin species are protected under national and international laws. And three are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. So it's illegal to own them as [00:07:00] pets. They don't do well in captivity and even with expert care, they struggle to survive.

Also, they'd probably just be a boring pet anyway, keeping you up at night and constantly looking for ants.

How can I help pangolins?

There has been a lot of work in the conservation community and with governments, communities, and organizations to protect pangolins from wildlife crime and reduce the demand for them.

That means stronger national laws and better monitoring, and that includes things like reducing the trade online. And you can actually help report pangolin products for sale online through the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online's work to identify and block illegal listings online.

Over 40 global tech companies making up more than 50 digital platforms are a part of this effort. Platforms like eBay, YouTube, Instagram, and you can report any suspicious content that you see on the member company's platforms with their in-app reporting feature.

So definitely use it.

Or if you can't find it, you can through the Coalition's own reporting form, which is included in the description of this video.To get a feel for what these products could look like, check out the other link below for the Coalition's lookout online page.

Oh, and also when you're out traveling and shopping and you see something [00:08:00] that looks like it could be some sort of pangolin product like pangolin leather boots or some traditional medicinal product containing ground pangolin scales, or even a pangolin dish on the menu.

Don't buy it. Don't eat it. And always ask before you buy. You can also always report anything suspicious to local authorities that are tasked with protecting wildlife and the environment.

There is so much to talk about here and learn, and I hope you got a lot out of this. You can learn more about pangolins and how you can help at the links in the description. And also please leave a comment about which wild lifer you think we should be having more conversations about. And until then, you can always check out more episodes of Wildlife Café right here on YouTube.