All about Pangolins

You might be wondering what a pangolin is. Wonder no more, because I am here to tell you. Pangolins are small creatures that are almost completely covered in overlapping scales. Believe it or not, about 20% of their bodyweight is composed of these protective scales. When a pangolin is threatened, it's defense is to roll up into a little ball. The size of pangolins ranges from one to three feet long and they weigh 10 to 60 pounds. Many people who look at pangolins are reminded of armadillos, but they are noticably different than armadillos. There are actually eight species of pangolin, and they can range in color from light brown, olive, and dark brown. The young pangolins, however, are oftentimes pale brown or pink in color.

Something cool about ground pangolins is that they can walk on their hind legs. It's really fun to watch YouTube videos of these creatures manuever across the world around them. Pangolins have long claws, which are designed for digging. This digging ability is very important to them, because their main source of food is termites. Their claws make light work of termite nests. Their claws are so big that pangolins must balance on the outer edges of their feet, and tuck their claws in to walk. Even though the tails of pangolins are very long, their heads are very tiny with jaws that lack teeth. Since pangolins don't have teeth, their stomach is muscular, with spines that project into the interior. Their stomach also has small stones to mash and grind prey. Pangolins also have long tongues which help get to the ants and termites in nests. Pangolin tounges are surprisingly longer than their bodies.