Though it may look reptilian, pangolins are actually mammals and are known as scaly anteaters. They are the only mammal that have scales over their entire bodies. These scales are their defense armor from being eaten by predators. When threatened, they emit a non-toxic spray, similar to a skunk, and roll into a ball. Their hard scales are made up of keratin and the scales act as armor against claws and teeth of animals who may try to eat them. Pangolins don’t have any other protection mechanism. They don’t even have teeth!

The largest species of pangolins are about four feet long down to the smallest species measuring only about a foot.  Pangolins are a quiet, shy, solitary creature.  They communicate with potential mates and other members using scent pheromones.  All of them are insect eaters with long tongues and diets ranging from ants to termites.  They are unable to chew due to lack of teeth, so they swallow small stones to act as a grinding apparatus within the stomach.  They have excellent olfactory senses but poor vision and hearing.

Females give birth to a single baby after a four-to-six-month gestation period.  Females generally only have one offspring per year.  The pup is cared for by its mother alone, birthed and tended to in a burrow or nest and riding on to her back for outside the nest for several months. The pangolin pup will not reach sexual maturity until it is two to four years old.

Pangolin is from pennguling and translates to “rolling up” in Malay.

There are eight species of pangolin that range from vulnerable to critically endangered.  Because of their docile nature, they are easy targets for poachers.  They are the most trafficked animal in the world, and it is estimated that one pangolin is poached every five minutes.