Pangolin is an unusual animal resembling an armadillo or anteater. However, all these animals are completely different. Pangolins belong to the mammals of the placental cohort and are lizards. Their name comes from the word "pengguling", which translates as "curl up in a ball." This animal really curls up if it feels threatened.
Sometimes pangolins are referred to as tsimolests, however, it is believed that the latter died out a long time ago. Therefore, the origin of pangolin is still a mystery.
The description of this exotic animal will be considered later in the article.
general characteristics
As we already said, pangolin is a lizard from the placental detachment. Its name in Latin sounds Pholidota. The body length of these lizards is 30-80 cm, the tail often has the same length and even more. The size of the animal is small.
The beast differs from its counterparts in an unusual appearance resembling either a hedgehog or a dragon. Pangolin is a scaly animal. Curled up, it becomes like a bump.
The beast has powerful armor, consisting of large hard diamond-shaped plates. Such a durable coating protects the pangolin from any dangers. Horny scales have different colors. Their color varies from yellowish to brown. This coloring allows the beast to go unnoticed among the surrounding landscape.
The scales do not interfere with the animal at all, in case the enemy approaches, the animal quickly twists into a ball, while the scaly particles fold like tiles.
There are no scales on the nose, abdomen and lower part of the paws; these parts of the body are covered with hairs. The flakes themselves are sharpened on the back side. If any of them is abraded, the newly formed one takes its place. The number of scales does not change throughout the life of the animal.
On the feet of the beast, five fingers with tenacious claws to help the animal dig.
Power Features
Pangolin is a moody animal in taste preferences. It prefers only ants and termites, as well as their eggs. Maybe that's why the pangolins are similar to anteaters. They have the same long muzzle and miniature mouth. Animals ignore all other food.
Any insectivorous animals have an elongated, sticky tongue. It can reach a length of 40 cm. So do pangolins. Moreover, the tongue is equipped with powerful muscles, the length of which reaches the pelvic part.
The animal has no teeth. Instead of teeth, he has horny growths in his stomach. Their function is the same as that of teeth. Pangolin sometimes swallows pebbles and sand, which help grind food.
Pangolin food is dry, so the animal needs easy access to water. It is for this reason that the animal lives in the humid tropics.
The animal weighs from 4.5 to 27 kg. He has strong legs, five-fingered, with large claws.
Hunting
Pangolin is an animal that preys on insects. And does it in an unusual way. He does not want to spend a lot of time and effort hunting, so he can easily tear up an anthill and run his tongue there. Then the pangolin waits for the ants to stick to the sticky surface of the tongue and drag them into his mouth.
Pangolin can destroy an entire colony of ants in half an hour. If for some reason he does not manage to do this, the beast fastens with sticky saliva the entrance to the anthill and returns the next day to finish eating.
But this is not the only possible option for hunting. The taste and smell of saliva like ants. Therefore, the pangolin just sits down, drools and waits for the prey to approach it itself.
Vision and hearing in animals is weak. The eyes are small in size, they are covered for centuries, providing protection from insect bites. The sense of smell is well developed.
During the hunt, pangolin preys on many insects. Sometimes up to 2 kg of prey was found in their stomachs.
Hygiene
The animal surprisingly performs hygiene measures.
With the help of an anthill, pangolins are released from pests on the skin. They settle down near an ant house and wait for its inhabitants to run in. Ants get under the pangolin flakes and bite. The skin of the animal is saturated with formic acid and cleansed. After the completion of the “procedure”, the pangolin compresses the scales and destroys the ants with this action.
Breeding
Pangolin - an animal whose lifestyle is single, starts breeding once a year. This happens in the winter. At this time, the pangolin creates a pair, however, not for long. To carry out the mating process, the male and the female lie side by side and weave their tails. This way they can mate.
A pregnant female carries offspring 4-5 months. Babies are born without hair, but completely independent. Their body is protected by soft bristles, which become hard after two weeks.
Mother feeds babies with her milk for a month. When danger approaches, she wraps herself in a ball and protects children under her body. After time, the cubs switch to adult food and begin to eat insects.
Behavior
Pangolin is a nocturnal animal, awake in the dark. By nature, the beast is leisurely. Happy animal sleeps. For sleep, he makes a mink or takes a hollow in a tree. By nature, he is lonely, does not form flocks.
Pangolin is an animal whose habitat depends on the species.
Some species live on trees, move well on them, but the speed of their movement does not exceed 5 km per hour. Sometimes they just hang on trees, catching their tail.
In case of a threat, the animal cannot escape, it is helped by powerful scales. He hides his head under the tail. Perhaps only a leopard can straighten such a twist. For protection, the pangolin also uses a jet of stench produced by the anal organs.
In addition to trees, the animal lives on the earth. They settle in the forests of the tropics and in open areas. Some species climb into burrows, and spend their whole lives there.
The animal easily stands on its hind legs, looking at the terrain. At the same time, it rests on the tail.
The animal has a lifespan of 13-14 years.
Varieties
8 species of pangolins live in the world. Four of them live in South and Equatorial Africa, others in Southeast Asia.
Pangolins are called African and Asian. Among the Asian famous:
- Javanese - inhabits the forest areas of Southeast Asia, feels great on trees, as well as on the ground;
- Filipino - lives only in the Philippines;
- eared - it is also called Chinese, lives in the forests and hills of China, received its name for large auricles;
- Indian - lives on flat, forested areas, as well as in the foothills of India, Nepal.
The following varieties are referred to African:
- white-bellied - lives in the forests and savannahs of Africa, the smallest representative of such animals, weighing no more than 2.4 kg;
- long-tailed - loves moist forests and wetlands;
- steppe - settles in the steppe regions and savannahs of Africa;
- giant - the largest pangolin species in size, living in the forests and savannahs of the equator.
Unique facts
The magnificent pangolin is on the verge of extinction. These animals are not many in the world. A man hunts them because of their unusual appearance. Some eat animals. The taste of their meat resembles pork. Skin and scales have healing properties. Some people believe that scales help protect against witchcraft. African residents hunt pangolins and use them for food.
The number of pangolins is steadily declining. The forests where they live are exterminated, and the animals themselves get it. The animal is included in the list of endangered mammals and taken under protection.
The pangolin trade has been banned. However, illegal merchants continue to export them, mainly from Vietnam. Authorities confiscate animals, similar cases occur more often. Moreover, the animals are taken out not only as a whole, but also in parts. The cost of pangolin on the black market is tens of thousands of dollars.
African healers say that pangolin scales save you from diseases such as cancer, asthma; helps improve lactation.
Animals do not survive in captivity, their content is very problematic due to the nuances of life and nutrition.
So, we examined the features and habitat of the pangolin. This is a truly unique and interesting beast.