Pangolin Portrait
Artwork Description
Have you ever heard of Pangolins?Though they are covered with scales, they are mammals - also called "scaled ant-eaters". They are amazing, ancient animals, whose only defense is to roll up into a ball when threatened. Those big claws are not sharp - they are only for digging out termite mounds. But just like us, they nurse their young with milk, and their babies ride around on their mother's tail until they are old enough to start eating termites and ants and forage on their own. This species lives in the jungles of Vietnam, China and South-East Asia, and they are very endangered due to poaching and wildlife trade today.I had the amazing experience of living with two of them when I was growing up - they were rescued from the wildlife trade (in the early 1990s), and looked after by my mother, a Ph.D. Biologist. I was able to watch a baby pangolin grow up, and got to know these amazing creatures and their sweet, curious, intelligent personalities.