Did You Say Pangolin? · the skool CLASSIFIEDS

🔥

Did You Say Pangolin?

Have you ever heard of a pangolin? A lot of people haven't.

Yet this quiet, gentle little mammal is one of the most extraordinary animals on Earth, and one of the most threatened.

Pangolins have been roaming our planet for millions of years, surviving incredible changes to the world around them. Today, however, their greatest threat isn't nature. It's us.

These remarkable animals are the most trafficked wild mammals on Earth. They are illegally hunted for their scales and meat, despite the fact that their scales are made of keratin, which is the exact same material found in our fingernails and hair. There is no scientific evidence that the scales have medicinal value, yet the illegal trade continues to push all eight species toward extinction.

Pangolins are insect-eating specialists, using powerful front claws to open ant and termite nests. Their incredibly long, sticky tongue can reach farther than their entire body, allowing them to eat thousands of ants and termites every day. They have no teeth, so every meal depends on that amazing tongue.

Despite their armor, pangolins are surprisingly gentle. When frightened, they don't fight. They simply curl into a tight ball and trust their overlapping scales to protect them.

They are also devoted parents. Most female pangolins give birth to just one baby at a time, making population recovery painfully slow. Babies are born with soft scales that harden within a few days. Before long, you'll find them riding safely on Mom's tail or back while she searches for food. Young pangolins often stay with their mother for many months before beginning life on their own.

These beautiful animals have so many fascinating attributes. One of them is that they've survived for more than 80 million years.

Let's make sure they survive us.

❤️ Have you ever heard of a pangolin before today?

If you'd like more animal stories and simple ways to help animals, I'd love to have you join us in Empowering Animals. Please use the link in this post rather than my profile so your membership is credited correctly. Thank you! ❤️

9 comments

Did You Say Pangolin?