Chinese Pangolin

Fascinating facts about the Chinese Pangolin

• The wild Chinese pangolin population has fallen by over 80% in just three generations, about 21 years. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2014, reflecting that steep decline. The species is threatened by poaching for the illegal wildlife trade, which continues to drive the collapse.
• Chinese pangolins have 18 rows of overlapping scales accompanied by hair, a rare combination in mammals. Their scales are typically grayish blue, giving them a distinctive, scaly-anteater appearance. The hard scales act as a protective cover from predators, and when threatened the animal can curl into a ball, a behaviour known as volvation.
• A newborn Chinese pangolin is only about 93 g and 45 cm long, yet it can walk on its first day. The young are born with soft scales, which harden after two days, providing early protection. Although it can move immediately, the mother carries the infant on her back or tail for safety. If danger approaches, the mother folds the baby onto her belly using her tail.
• The Chinese pangolin's diet is almost entirely insects, as shown by a juvenile's stomach that contained exactly 25,803 ants and 812 termites. Ants made up 97 % of the prey items by abundance and 98 % by biomass, with species such as Camponotus nicobarensis dominating the haul. In the wild it also feeds on termites, bee larvae, flies, earthworms and crickets, exploiting its long sticky tongue to extract them from nests.
• In the 1960s Chinese authorities seized roughly 170,000-180,000 pangolins each year. More recent interceptions show the trade persists: officials detained scales from nearly 8,000 pangolins at a Hong Kong port, then a second shipment containing scales from about 5,000 more.

At a glance

About the Chinese Pangolin

In the scorching savannas and mystical forests, the pangolin emerges as a curious, nocturnal wanderer, its unique, armor-plated form curling into a ball of protection as it snuffles and snorts through the underbrush in search of ants and termites. With a gentle, almost ethereal quality, it moves through the world, its scales glistening like polished onyx in the faint moonlight, a true marvel of evolution that has captivated the imagination of all who have been fortunate enough to witness it. As it digs and burrows with its powerful, claw-like front legs, the pangolin embodies a quiet, unassuming resilience, a testament to the wonders that still await us in the natural world.

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