DON'T MESS WITH 'EM! I have never actually seen an animal known as a "pangolin".And, from the nature of the talk which I keep hearing about this strange mammal, I think I'd just as soon maintain my distance from them.
The feed all night and sleep all day, which is contrary to my liking, for example. And, while they are adequately prepared to defend themselves they have a habit of giving up - simply rolling themselves into a ball and lying still pretending danger is not really close by or even in the area. When threatened, they pull in their retractable legs - all four of them - and ,as their very name says in Malay - literally roll themselves into tight, scaly balls . The would appear to be like giant doodlebugs facing up to danger by pretending it isn't really there. Their very name means "to roll up" in the Malay language They have strong legs and simply retract all four of them when they feel they are threatened; roll up tightly. The sharp edges of their scales stick out a bit like razor-edged knives so finders who think they can be keepers have some second thoughts about taking possession thereof and they seldom kick the balls around a second time. Pangolins sleep that way all day in the crotch of a tree, a stump or a cliff side opening. They have a have a prehensile tail, scale-studded, which they can used to hang from a limb and which can be used defensively with amazing
agility. They also have scent glands very much like those of the skunk and spray their foes in a like manner
.
Very few pangolins remain. It is partly due to their non-aggressive habits but their skins are very much in demand for the making of belts, straps and shoes and boots of all kinds. There is also a soup on the side menu at many native eating places, as well.
There are eight species. None of them have teeth. Being primarily eaters of bugs they have little need for dentures, but they do have a tongue that merits special comment. The long-tailed type measures, perhaps, three feet in length; the giant model comes to about six feet in length and that one has a tongue that measures two feet in length. and the base of the tongue is anchored to the pangolin's hip bones which suggests the leverage they have at their command. It can run on two feet , too, in a chase.
In have no particular plans to visit Central Africa or Southeastern Asia - the two termite-infested spots on Earth pangolins love best. I say leave 'em be ... right where they are.
A.L.M. May 9, 2005 [c461wds]
