Wildlife
Seriously crazy looking creatures according to Steve Backshall, pangolins are a group of animals aptly described as looking like living pinecones. Confident in their flexible armour, pangolins ignore most other animals, as they can curl themselves up into a virtually impregnable ball. They have a super sense of smell that can find termites and ants from hundreds of metres away, and claws that can dig through ground as hard as concrete.
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Clever claws
Pangolins can both dig through concrete and claw their way to the tree tops.
Pangolins can both dig through concrete and claw their way to the tree tops.
Impregni-ball
Flexible armour makes the pangolin virtually impregnable.
Flexible armour makes the pangolin virtually impregnable.
The following habitats are found across the Pangolins distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
A pangolin ( /ˈpæŋɡəlɪn/), scaly anteater, or trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. The only one extant family (Manidae) has one genus (Manis) of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with this adaptation. They are found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The name "pangolin" derives from the Malay word pengguling ("something that rolls up").
Pangolins are nocturnal animals, and use their well-developed sense of smell to find insects. The long-tailed pangolin is also active by day. Pangolins spend most of the daytime sleeping, curled up into a ball.
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Tropical coniferous forest
Tropical dry forest
Tropical grassland
Rainforest
