World Pangolin Day: Meet the Pangolin!

Today marks the fifth annual World Pangolin Day, a day created to spread awareness about my favorite animal, the pangolin. What the heck is a pangolin? You probably have no idea, which is why that’s the first thing I’m going to tell you, followed by why it’s endangered and what YOU can do to help save it.

This is a pangolin. A ground pangolin, to be precise.
It lives on the ground.
Photo by David Brossard [license]

This is a tree pangolin. Guess where it lives...
Photo by Bart Wursten [license]

Despite being called a "scaly anteater" and wearing armor like an armadillo, the pangolin isn't related to anteaters or armadillos; it's in an order all its own. It's the world’s only mammal that is covered with overlapping scales, which are hard and made of keratin (the same stuff as our fingernails).

These scales are on a mammal. Believe it!
Photo from Leeds Museums and Galleries [license]

These scales are a double-edged sword for the pangolin because they protect it from predators, but also make it desirable to humans. While its scales are its most recognizable feature, the pangolin boasts numerous other weird and wonderful adaptations. First and foremost of these is a long, sticky tongue, which is anchored near the pangolin's pelvis and can exceed the length of its body! The pangolin uses its tongue to lap up ants and termites—nearly 200 thousand a day! While dining, it can seal its nostrils and ears shut to keep out insects. It locates ant and termite nests with its acute sense of smell, then burrows into them with massive, shovel-like claws.

Dragon foot? Nope, pangolin foot.
Photo from The Children's Museum of Indianapolis [license]

Wow, with weapons like that, the pangolin must be able to really mess up would-be predators, right? ...Actually, no. It prefers to use its numerous sharp teeth to... just kidding. Pangolins don't have teeth; they use gravel and keratinous spines in their stomachs to break up insect chitin. Some species are adept tree-climbers, such as the cleverly-named tree pangolin, which can hang from branches with its prehensile tail like a monkey. But pangolins aren't fast enough to run for the trees when faced by a predator, what with all those heavy scales (which can account for a fifth of their body weight). So, what do they do for protection? They use their scales as armor and roll up into a ball, of course!

A pangolin curled up for defense.
Photo by Wildlife Alliance [license]

"There must be a door here, or a zipper, or SOMETHING."
Photo by David Bygott [license]

This is even how the pangolin got its name. The word "pangolin" comes from the Malay word "pengguling," which means "one who rolls up." However, while this behavior can and does protect pangolins from being chewed on by big cats and hyenas, it is no defense against humans, who can simply pick up the scaly balls and carry them off.

The pangolin is threatened by a rampant illegal international trade in scales and meat.

There are eight extant species of pangolin—four in Asia and four in Africa—and all of them are threatened with extinction due to poaching. In fact, an estimated 100,000 pangolins are snatched from the wild each year. Why? Because their scales are thought to have magic healing powers. Yep. Their keratin scales, made of the same stuff as our nails and hair, are believed in Asia to be able to cure everything from acne to cancer.

Of course, their meat is also eaten. In Africa it's bush meat, but in Asia it's a delicacy. Wealthy patrons of certain restaurants in China and Vietnam can pay to have a smuggled pangolin brought out and killed in front of them (to guarantee the freshness, of course). They'll often take the blood home in a jar. It's a supposed aphrodisiac. And did I mention pangolin fetus soup, because that is unfortunately a thing.

This happens despite pangolins being protected under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), and it continues to happen due to lack of public awareness, low levels of information about the illegal pangolin trade, and lack of political will.

But you can help!

Education and awareness are key to stopping pangolin trafficking.

The pangolin is the most trafficked mammal on Earth, but most people in the Western world don't even know it exists! Polar bears, tigers, and rhinos are endangered, but at least they have the benefit of being well-known. You can help pangolins just by telling people about them. Post about pangolins on social media, make a piece of pangolin art, bake a cake that looks like a pangolin, or come up with something all your own. Just get the word out, and mark your calendar for World Pangolin Day, the third Saturday in February, so you know when to do it again. You can also like World Pangolin Day on Facebook.

Here are some bonus facts to make you love pangolins even more:

• A mother pangolin carries her baby around on her tail. D'aww.
• Besides humans, pangolins are the only mammals to walk primarily on two legs. Watch this gif and tell me it doesn't remind you of a little T. rex.
• When pangolins drink, they get bubble beards. See a video here.
• Pangolins love to play in the mud. See a video here.

To find out more about the eight species of pangolin, check out pangolinsg.org/pangolins.

Happy World Pangolin Day!