Pangolins - getting things rolling!
- Finn Holmes-Kellett
- Mar 31, 2021
- 4 min read
(Above) Purchased from ZSL London Zoo, Pablo is based on a Chinese pangolin, one of the rarest of the group. By purchasing a toy like this, you are generating funds for the organisation to continue its vital conservation work to protect these animals. Head to the zoo's online shop to order yours now! I deliberately picked a blurry picture to symbolize these animals slowly fading out of existence, but it doesn't have to be that way!
Pangolins are animals that far too few people know about! The irony is that they often become a top favourite species for many who do find out about them! Shy, mostly nocturnal and ancient, these unique and harmless little mammals are facing a highly uncertain future! Time to jump aboard the Pangolin band wagon! You can bet that these bizarre mammals will be popping up a lot on this site! I will make sure of it!
What are they?
At first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking they were a species of anteater, or even a reptile. In fact, they are the only mammal to possess scales and their resemblance to anteaters is only through convergent evolution. The most accurate studies show that the closest living relatives of the pangolin group (pholidota) are the Carnivora, the group of mammalian carnivores includes dogs, cats, bears and all their relatives! This could also mean that pangolins are distant relatives of bats and ungulates (hooved animals).
Other fast facts:
Today, there are 8 species of pangolin. 4 are native to Africa, while the other 4 are native to Asia.
Similar also to anteaters in lifestyle, pangolins primarily feed on invertebrates, such as termites, ants and worms. Consuming thousands every day, their lack of teeth requires the use of an extraordinarily long tongue for the job! Over half their entire body length, it extends past their ribcage and settles within a specialized sheath inside the chest cavity when not in use.
Their scales are made of keratin, the same protein that human hair and nails are composed of. Overlapping across the animals’ body, they form an effective suit of armour against larger predators such as big cats, as well as some of their prey e.g. biting ants.
When threatened, some species will roll into a tight ball to protect their soft underside, as well as any young they may have with them. In this state, it is easy to mistake them for a giant pine cone!
Why #PangolinLivesMatter!
Animals should not merely be preserved because they are well liked by society, but because every living organism plays its own part in maintaining a stable environment both for their region and for the earth as a whole!
It is believed that pangolins have an ancestry going back around 90 million years. This means that their ancestors were living alongside the non-avian dinosaurs! So their impact on the environment has long been felt by any ecosystem they happen to be a part of. In their search for invertebrate prey, they often break into hard termite mounds and the earth itself. This not only gives other species access to a valuable food source, but also churns up the soil, allowing for any seeds that get unintentionally buried in the process a means of germinating! Some species are also known to dig large burrows, that are also used as refuges by other species, such as bats, reptiles and other mammals!
You could say that they are little environmental engineers!
How can we all help?
As said before, these unique and harmless creatures are in dramatic decline across their range. Labelled as ‘the most trafficked mammal on the planet’, they are collected from the wild in huge numbers to supply demand for their meat, which is considered a local delicacy in some areas. It is believed in some countries that their scales can cure various conditions if taken as a medicine.
With the right amount and kind of action, there is still hope to save this amazing animal group. So what can we all do, yourself included?
Spread the word!!!!! Make sure everyone you know does some research into pangolins!
Donate to reputable pangolin conservation projects (see below). With your help, people can ensure that more pangolins can be confiscated from poachers and rehabilitated. They can also work to reduce the demand for pangolin meat and scales.
References: (Because we all learned from somewhere).
Comments