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| Photo Credit: R Millar |
Pangolins are weird and wonderful creatures covered with protective horny, overlapping scales.
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| Photo Credit: Kurt of African Graphic |
Pangolins are not related to armadillos.
When threatened, pangolins roll into a ball.
Pangolins are sometimes called scaly anteaters.
The Southern African pangolin can be found in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and also in the northern regions of South Africa, where there is no frost and a lot of ants to eat.
Pangolins spend most of their time in abandoned warthog burrows and are nocturnal – only coming out at night.
A pangolin’s eye sight is very poor and they rely on their sense of smell.
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| Photo Credit: Frank Solomon |
Their diet consists mainly of ants and termites.
As they do not have teeth, pangolins use their extremely long tongue to feed. The tongue is covered in a sticky mucous to help them capture their prey.
There is a special sheath for the pangolin’s long tongue, that retracts into their chest cavity.
Baby pangolins will hide inside the rolled up body of their mothers.
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| Jake Hoddinott with a pangolin at Mala Mala |
The scales of the pangolin are very sharp and will slice anything that comes between them.
This pangolin specie can grow to a length of about 42 inches and weigh 30 to 40 pounds.
Pangolins have excellent hearing.
Pangolins make up a unique order called Pholidota.
In Tanzania, it’s believed that when a pangolin is sighted it will bring 7 years of good luck.
Leopards, lions and hyenas may eat a pangolin but their biggest threat is loss of habitat. Pangolin is also a favourite bush meat and their scales are used in love potions.
Their long thick tail gets in the way of mating in the usual mammal position. The male mounts therefore from the side with his tail wrapped round the female’s.
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| This photo gives an idea of the size of a pangolin (this guy was later released in Kruger) |
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