Fun Facts about Pangolins!

Photo credit: R Millar

Pangolins are weird and wonderful creatures covered with protective horny, overlapping scales

Photo Credit: Kurt of African Graphic

Pangolins are in 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

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

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.

This photo gives an idea of the size of a pangolin (this guy was later released in Kruger)