A Pangolin in Our Living Room

In the early 1970's a closed friend from the Philippines ( now deceased) gave Macrine and I a gift that until now we are still enjoying in our living room. He hand-carried it in the plane and after I received it, I have it enclosed in a glass cage ( plastic glass) as seen in the photo above. At that time I really did not know anything about this stuffed and preserved animal, but my friend said it is an ant and termite eater similar to the armadillo of Texas.

Not too long ago, I was reading an article on Pangolin in Bob Martin Facebook page, thus this posting.



Photo of Pangolin from Bob Martin blog, Live in the Philippines

Here's what Wikipedia says:

Pangolins (also referred to as scaly anteaters or trenggiling) are mammals of the order Pholidota. The one extant family, Manidae, has three genera: Manis, which comprises four species living in Asia, Phataginus, which comprises two species living in Africa, and Smutsia, which comprises two species also living in Africa. These species range in size from 30 to 100 centimetres (12 to 39 in). A number of extinct pangolin species are also known. The name pangolin comes from the Malay word "pengguling", meaning "something that rolls up". It is found in tropical regions throughout Africa and Asia.

Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales covering their skin; they are the only known mammals with this adaptation. They live in hollow trees or burrows, depending on the species. Pangolins are nocturnal, and their diet consists of mainly ants and termites which they capture using their long, specially adapted tongues. They tend to be solitary animals, meeting only to mate and produce a litter of one to three offspring which are raised for about two years.

Pangolins are threatened by hunting (for their meat and armor) and heavy deforestation of their natural habitats, and are the most trafficked mammal in the world. Of the eight species of pangolin, four species (Phataginus tetradactyla, P. tricuspis, Smutsia gigantea, and S. temminckii) are listed as vulnerable, two species (Manis crassicaudata and M. cullonensis) are listed as endangered, and two species (M. pentadactyla and M. javanica) are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

I hope that the Pangolin in my living room is not a specie that is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN list.