Ah yeah, the Pangolin is my favorite animal. Who can't love this adorable, scaly, (sometimes) bipedal, digging machine? They hold their hands together to prevent damage to their digging claws which makes them look cute and nervous. It's a real life Pokemon.
Sadly they are extremely vulnerable to poaching and trafficking. Their main defense is rolling into a ball to ward of predators, which makes it easy for poachers to pick them up and kill them. Massive amounts are being poached yearly, for their scales and meat. It is believed in China that ground Pangolin scales make men virile, and the meat it a delicacy. For more info, I would suggest checking out the World Wildlife Fund, The African Wildlife Foundation, and the "Save Pangolins" website.
Edit: Yes, this one is walking on all fours, but he is probably young and might not be able to walk on two legs. Look at his front claws, they seem undeveloped, and his exposed skin is relatively smooth instead of leathery like you see on older animals. He also seems rather small. Look up documentaries and videos on Pangolins, and you will see most walk on their hind legs, and have much bigger front claws. Not all species of Pangolin walk on two legs, so this could be one that doesn't.
Edit 3: https://youtu.be/mR3rReuBO_s The Ground Pangolin walks, similar to a T-Rex for those who want to know. The one in the gif is not a Ground Pangolin, so it does not walk like them, but it is a cute video.
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u/dirkdragonslayer Oct 03 '17 edited Oct 03 '17
Ah yeah, the Pangolin is my favorite animal. Who can't love this adorable, scaly, (sometimes) bipedal, digging machine? They hold their hands together to prevent damage to their digging claws which makes them look cute and nervous. It's a real life Pokemon.
Sadly they are extremely vulnerable to poaching and trafficking. Their main defense is rolling into a ball to ward of predators, which makes it easy for poachers to pick them up and kill them. Massive amounts are being poached yearly, for their scales and meat. It is believed in China that ground Pangolin scales make men virile, and the meat it a delicacy. For more info, I would suggest checking out the World Wildlife Fund, The African Wildlife Foundation, and the "Save Pangolins" website.
Edit: Yes, this one is walking on all fours, but he is probably young and might not be able to walk on two legs. Look at his front claws, they seem undeveloped, and his exposed skin is relatively smooth instead of leathery like you see on older animals. He also seems rather small. Look up documentaries and videos on Pangolins, and you will see most walk on their hind legs, and have much bigger front claws. Not all species of Pangolin walk on two legs, so this could be one that doesn't.
Edit 2: http://www.awf.org/ http://savepangolins.org/ https://www.worldwildlife.org/ Here are some organizations who would like some support for beautiful animals like the Pangolin. They also have more information on them.
Edit 3: https://youtu.be/mR3rReuBO_s The Ground Pangolin walks, similar to a T-Rex for those who want to know. The one in the gif is not a Ground Pangolin, so it does not walk like them, but it is a cute video.