Written By: Nisita Sah
Edited By: Annie Stammreich
Image from worldwildlife.org
Pangolins are mammals belonging to the order Pholidota. They are enlisted in the list of endangered animals due to the high rate of trafficking. It is believed to be the world’s most trafficked mammal. Here is a basic overview on the shy, harmless pangolins:
● Physical characteristics:
Average weight- 5 to 27 kg
Average length – 30 to 90 cm, excluding the tail
Pangolins have a very long tongue that can extend 40 centimeters beyond
its mouth.
Pangolins are covered in armor made up of horny plates, which overlap
like shingles on a roof.
Pangolins have short legs, a long snout and a thick prehensile tail. The head is small and cone-shaped. The ears are small.
● Diet:
Pangolins live predominantly on a diet of ants and termites. By digging ants
and termites from mounds, stumps, and fallen logs with their claws, they use
their extremely long, sticky tongues to capture and eat them
● Habits/Behavior:
Pangolins are solitary, nocturnal animals. They sleep during the day in
burrows (sometimes as many as 70 different ones scattered over a large
territory).
When threatened, they roll into a ball like an armadillo, and they can
release a stinky fluid from a gland at the base of their tails as a defense
mechanism.
● Distribution and habitat:
Pangolins are found in a variety of habitats including tropical and flooded
forests, thick brush, cleared and cultivated areas, and savannah
grassland.
Four pangolin species occur across Asia: the Indian pangolin, the
Chinese pangolin, the Sunda pangolin, and the Palawan pangolin
Four species are found in Africa south of the Sahara Desert: the ground
pangolin, the white-bellied pangolin, the giant pangolin, and the
black-bellied pangolin
● Role in the ecosystem:
Their large and elongated claws enable them to burrow underground for
shelter and to excavate ant and termite nests for food. In doing so, the soil
is mixed and aerated. This improves the nutrient quality of the soil and
aids the decomposition cycle, providing a healthy substrate for lush
vegetation to grow from.
Estimates indicate that one adult pangolin can consume more than 70
million insects annually. Pangolins’ insatiable appetite for insects gives
them an important role in their ecosystem: pest control.
● Threats:
The primary threat to most pangolin species is illegal hunting and
poaching for local use and illicit international trade. This trade mainly
involves pangolin scales and meat, which are primarily trafficked to East
and Southeast Asia, and to a lesser extent other body parts.
Like rhino horn and human fingernails, pangolin scales are made of
keratin and have no proven medicinal value, yet they are used as an
ingredient in traditional Asian medicine, particularly in China and
Vietnam. They are believed to be a cure for ailments ranging from heart
disease to cancer, and to help lactating women produce milk. The scales
typically dried and ground up into powder, which may be turned into a pill.
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