5 Facts about Pangolins

1. Rolling is the name – To hide their softer underbellies and to protect themselves, pangolins roll themselves into a tight ball. This is how they get their name from the Malay word ‘penggulung’ meaning roller.   
2. These creatures are great and small – The largest pangolin is the giant ground pangolin. It can weigh around 33kg with a total length of 180 cm; its smallest cousin, the black-bellied pangolin, weighs up to just 3.6kg.   
3. Just like us– Pangolin scales are made of keratin, the same material as our human nails. Their scales grow throughout a pangolin’s life and behave like armour, protecting their owners from the sharp teeth and claws of predators.  
4. The keeper of balance – pangolins do an excellent job of pest control; each one can eat up to 70 million insects annually. This in turn protects food supplies for whole ecosystems, aerates the soil, and allows other insects and mammals (including us humans) to thrive.    
5. They are vunerable. There are eight species of pangolin: Philippine Pangolin, Sunda Pangolin, Chinese Pangolin, Indian Pangolin, Temminck’s Pangolin, White-bellied Pangolin, Black-bellied Pangolin, Giant Ground Pangolin. 

   According to the IUCN, six species of these are Endangered or Critically Endangered (Red List of Endangered Species.)

Why Pangolins are endangered

The Pangolin, also known as scaly anteaters, are in danger of becoming extinct. It is crucial to save them as they reproduce very slowly, with only one or two offspring in each litter, and usually produce babies once a year. 

This makes it difficult for the wild population to recover from excessive poaching. Although adult pangolins are solitary creatures, baby pangolins rely heavily on their mothers, staying with them for one to two years, depending on the species. At birth, babies are small and have soft, pinkish-white scales, which makes them vulnerable. 

The pangolin habitat

It is essential for mothers to have safe places to care for their babies. Pangolin mothers go to great lengths to protect their young and ensure their survival. They build burrows with complex underground structures, which can have up to ten concealed entrances. They also use hollow trees as temporary homes when searching for food away from their main burrows.

Why Pangolins are trafficked

Sadly, pangolins are the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world with poachers killing as many as 2.7 million every year in Africa alone. 

This seriously threatens their populations and though national and international laws protect all eight pangolin species native to Africa and Asia, illegal traders continue to hunt them for their meat and scales for use in traditional Asian medicine.