Chinese Pangolin

The name "pangolin" comes from the Malay word pengguling (ڤڠݢوليڠ⁩), meaning "one who rolls up," from guling or giling, "to roll"; it was used for the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica). However, the modern name is Tenggiling (تڠݢيليڠ). In Javanese, it is terenggiling (ꦠꦺꦫꦺꦔꦒꦶꦭꦶꦔ꧀), and in the Philippine languages, it is goling (ᜄᜓᜎᜒᜅ᜔), tanggiling (ᜆᜅ᜔ᜄᜒᜎᜒᜅ᜔), or balintong (ᜊᜎᜒᜈ᜔ᜆᜓᜅ᜔/بلينعتڠ; with the same meaning), means "one who rolls over" or "one who somersaults" in Cuyonon language. Other names in Cuyonon include balekon or balikon and goling, with the same meaning. In the Palawan language, it is also known as tanggiling (ᝦᝤᝲᝮᝲ; also spelled tangiling), also with the same meaning.

• Singular: Pangolin

• Plural: Pangolins

The Chinese pangolin resembles an anteater with scales. Usually, its scales are blue-gray in color. Its tail measures approximately 25–38 cm (9.8–15.0 in), while its head and body size approximately 40–58 cm (16–23 in). The weight of an adult Chinese pangolin ranges from 2 to 7 kg (4.4 to 15.4 lb). Its eighteen rows of overlapping scales and hair are an uncommon combination in mammals. Its head is short and pointed, and its mouth is small and narrow. As it gets older, its claws get longer. One youngster is born to the female at a time.

A baby pangolin's length is approximately 45 cm (18 in), and it weighs approximately 93 g (3.3 oz). When the weather warms up in April and May, the Chinese pangolin breeds. The young have soft scales at birth, but after two days, they harden. On its first day of life, the juvenile pangolin can walk, but its mother carries it on her back or tail. The mother quickly folds her infant onto her belly with the assistance of her tail if she senses danger. It has been noted that male pangolins let the female and young share their burrow.

The Chinese pangolin's closest relatives are other pangolins (such as Sunda, Indian, Philippine, and African species); its distant relatives are anteaters and carnivorans (cats, civets, dogs, seals, weasels, and bears) through convergent evolution; it is not closely related to the African aardvark, the marsupial numbat, or American anteaters.

The pangolin's hard scales work as a protective cover from predators, and when it feels threatened, it curls into a ball ("volvation"), it rolls into a tight ball; its scales shield it from predators like tigers and leopards; and its sharp edges can deter attackers. The Chinese pangolin excavates large, spiral burrows up to 40 meters long and 5 meters deep for nesting and sleeping. Despite not having fur, the Chinese pangolin's thermal adaption allows it to control body temperature since its scales aid in moisture retention.

Unlike other mammals, the Chinese pangolin's tongue muscles are fixed deep in the chest rather than the jaw, allowing it to extend over 25 cm (10 in) beyond its mouth. Being semi-arboreal, the Chinese pangolin climbs trees to locate termite nests or flee from predators. The pangolin can emit strong-smelling secretions as deterrent.

The Chinese pangolin is obligate myrmecophage, it feeds mainly on insects, particularly termites and ants. It digs into ant nests and termite mounds with its large fore claws and extracts insects with its long, sticky tongue. The Chinese pangolin digs long burrows in the ground, which they use to sleep and hunt termites. Large cats, crocodiles, gibbons, dogs, dholes, wolves, eagles, or pythons may attack young Chinese pangolins, but humans and crocodiles pose the greatest threat to this species. The Chinese pangolin has an ecosystem role by controlling insect populations and facilitating the cycle of nutrients by aerating the soil during digging.

Gut contents of a wild juvenile individual killed by dogs in Hong Kong on November 24, 2013 included only 25,803 ants and 812 termites, representing 6 genera and 9 species. Ants represented the main food source in terms of species richness (8 species), abundance (97%), and biomass (98%), the most abundant species being Camponotus nicobarensis, Polyrhachis tyrannica, and Crematogaster dohrni. The invasive yellow crazy ant was also present in the stomach contents, a species commonly found near human settlements and at forest edges rather than in undisturbed forest, suggesting this individual foraged at forest margins, unlike the disturbance-avoiding behavior observed within heavily hunted rural populations.

Due to its specific diet, it can become arduous to provide the appropriate food for captive animals. Since the 1970s "pangolins are now almost unknown to visitors and are exhibited infrequently in zoos", and have "historically been difficult to maintain, with most captive animals dying within a short period after capture". When in their natural habitat, this species lives "on a diet of ants, termites, and various other invertebrates including bee larvae, flies, worms, earthworms, and crickets". After carefully creating new, more sustainable recipes in zoos, some of the ingredients used have included "egg, meat (ground beef, horse, canned feline diet), evaporated milk products, milk powder, fish protein, orchid leaves, commercial chows, psyllium seed, carrots, yeast, multivitamins, and insects (mixtures of silkworm larvae, earth, ants, termites, meal worms, or crickets)".

A number of zoos that have kept pangolins under observation have found that the animals died most commonly after a few years, without breeding successfully. Researchers claim this outcome is correlated to the "poor acceptance of captive diets and digestive problems." The Chinese pangolin is considered to be high risk in terms of extinction.

The Chinese pangolin has long been used for meat, scales, and traditional medicine in China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries. Their keratin-based scales were mistakenly thought to reduce inflammation and encourage lactation; these claims are unsupported by science. Because they burrow, pangolins were considered "earth dragons" in ancient Chinese folklore, with the ability to travel between realms. The primary contemporary problem for this species is the sharp decline in population due to habitat destruction and poaching. CITES Appendix I now prohibits the international trade in pangolins and their parts.

Reproduction

Breeding season:

• Peaks autumn to winter, from September to December.

Gestation:

• About 5 months.

Birth:

• 1 baby per litter (rarely 2).

• Newborn pangolins are soft-scaled; scales harden within a few days.

Maternal care:

• Mother keeps the young in the burrow and curls around it for protection.

• The young may ride on the mother’s tail when she moves.

Sexual maturity:

• Reached around 2 years.

The Chinese pangolin is a nocturnal, solitary animal that forages at night and spends the day in burrows. The males of this species have a wider range, whereas the adults' home ranges overlap. The pangolin's defense mechanism, it curl into a tight sphere and use their sharp scales to ward off predators. It can also release strong-smelling secretions as a deterrent, similar to skunks but less potent. The Chinese pangolin uses body language and scent marking instead of vocalization to communicate.

You scare pangolins more than they scare you. These timid animals will not harm a human. Pangolins are solitary, timid creatures who, rather than displaying affection, will curl into a ball for protection when in danger. Since they are wild animals with particular needs and are under a lot of stress in captivity, they are not domesticated and cannot be maintained as pets. Instead of interacting with individuals in a nice manner, they are more likely to be afraid of them. 

The Chinese pangolin is native to southern Nepal, northeastern India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, northern Indochina, southern China, including the island of Hainan, and most of Taiwan. It has been recorded up to an elevation of 3,000 m (9,800 ft).

It formerly ranged throughout provinces south of the Yangtze River, as well as north of the Yangtze River in southern Sichuan, northeast Chongqing, northwest Hubei, and southwest Henan Provinces. The only pangolin species was adapted to snowy and cold climates like China and Taiwan due to the hairs between the keratin scales.

• Movement Pattern: Nomadic

• Individual Type: Solo

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: 

  • Earth: 30,000

  • Reinachos: 5,000,000

  • Sawintir: 20,000

  • Delphia: 50,000

• Locomotion: Terrestrial

• Habitat: Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests, Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Mountain.

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): Bangladesh; Bhutan; China; Hong Kong; India; Laos; Myanmar; Nepal; Taiwan; Thailand; Vietnam

Every species of pangolin is prohibited from being owned or traded and is protected by international law. They rarely survive long in captivity because to digestive and psychological stress, have a highly specialized diet (ants, termites), are nocturnal, and are completely inappropriate. It is unethical to keep a pangolin as a pet since it increases the risk of extinction and directly encourages illegal wildlife trafficking.

ugh

• ???

• Brezhoneg: Pangolin Sina

• Català: Pangolí xinès

• Čeština: Luskoun krátkoocasý

• Dansk: Kinesisk skældyr

• Deutsch: Chinesisches Schuppentier

• English: Chinese Pangolin

• Eesti: Pangoliin

• Euskara: Txinako pangolina

• Français: Pangolin à courte queue

• Magyar: Kínai tobzoska

• Italiano: Pangolino cinese

• Nederlands: Chinees schubdier

• Diné Bizáád: Náátsʼózídę́ę́ʼ wóláchííʼ yildeełí bikágí ntłʼizí

• Polski: Pangolin pięciopalczasty

• Português: Pangolim-chinês

• Russian: Китайский ящер

• Slovenčina: Šupinavec čínsky

• Svenska: Kortsvansad myrkott

• Thai: ลิ่นจีน

• Ukrainian: Панголін Китаю

• Tagalog: Balintong ng Tsina

• Tiếng Việt: Tê tê vàng

• Cantonese: 中國穿山甲

• Mandarin: 中華穿山甲, 穿山甲,中華穿山甲,鯪鯉

• Coming soon

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_pangolin

• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q842283

• https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Manis_pentadactyla

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12764/168392151

• https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Manis_pentadactyla/

• https://www.ifaw.org/international/journal/faq-pangolins#:~:text=Are%20pangolins%20dangerous%3F,sharp%20scales%20to%20deter%20predators.

• https://news.janegoodall.org/2016/09/03/pangolins-iucn/

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Chinese-Pangolin-950364025