Chinese Pangolin

If you don't know what a Pangolin is, you should watch the short video below.

This mammal is clad in scaly armor to defend himself from predators, which actually works really well against lions. However, there is a nastier predator out there just waiting to kill them for their scales and meat.

I'm talking about humans.

"We keep them alive in cages until the customer makes an order. Then we hammer them unconscious, cut their throats and drain the blood. It is a slow death. We then boil them to remove the scales. We cut the meat into small pieces and use it to make a number of dishes, including braised meat and soup. Usually the customers take the blood home with them afterwards." - Chef interviewed by The Guardian (2007)

We are killing off the Pangolins. We kill them because we desire their scales and meat. Most of the poached pangolins are sent to Southeast Asia and China. We are destroying their homes as well through deforestation. These cute little guys are being destroyed and most people don't even know they're there.

Dire news for the Pangolins... a species we are losing rapidly

Quick Facts

Scientific Name: Manis pentadactyla

Unknown lifespan in wild (~20 years in captivity)

Nocturnal creatures

Head-body length 42-92 cm
Tail length 28-35 cm
Weight 2-7 kg
They don't have teeth!
They are bipedal
1 birth per pregnancy
Babies ride on their mother's tails despite being able to walk
Fathers have been seen sharing burrows with the female and offspring

Although they look very similar to armadillos and anteaters and were once thought to be a part o the magnorder Xenartha, genetic tests have placed them into the magnorder Epitheria, superorder Ferae, and into their own order Pholidota, which is most similar to the order Carnivora. They are the so unique that the closest relatives are all extinct. This animal is the last of it's kind on the Earth and with so few remaining I don't see them being able to hang on very much longer.

As stated in the video above, these creatures are relatively unknown. We've seen them eat ants and termites, but we don't know their diet completely. Their range is not completely known either, because they are difficult to find and their tracking tags fall off or get broken. Below is the where Chinese Pangolins are believed to be.

Here's an interesting video where this pangolin's armor gets put to the test

Want to do your part to save pangolins? It’s simple.

Don’t eat pangolins!!
Don’t buy pangolin products: no pangolin medicine, no pangolin wine, no pangolin jewelry, no pangolin scales or leather.
Support these organizations with pangolin conservation programs:

IUCN-SSC Pangolin Specialist Group www.pangolinsg.org
Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) in Cambodia www.accb-cambodia.org
ASEAN-WEN www.asean-wen.org
Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program in Vietnam www.carnivore-pangolin.org
Conservation International-Cambodia www.conservation.org
Education for Nature Vietnam www.envietnam.org
Fauna & Flora International www.fauna-flora.org
TRAFFIC www.traffic.org
Wildlife Alliance www.wildlifealliance.org (and donate directy to their pangolin program via theirGlobal Giving page)
Harapan Rainforest www.harapanrainforest.org
Tikki Hywood Trust www.tikkihywoodtrust.org
Pangolin Research Mundulea pangolins-namibia.blogspot.com

Spread the word!!!

Tell your friends and family about pangolins!!

Or you could always find someway of "stopping" the illegal trade of pangolins.
I, however, don't condone any acts of vigilantism, but I could be persuaded to join you.

Small win for the Pangolins