Short-tailed Pangolin

About this species

Size

Head and body 40–58cm; tail 25–38cm

Diet

Mainly termites and ants

Habitat

Recorded up to 3,000m

Range

Southern Nepal, north-east India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, northern Indochina, southern China and Taiwan

The Chinese pangolin, listed here as the short-tailed pangolin, has typically greyish-blue scales in 18 rows of overlapping scales accompanied by hair, a rare combination in mammals. Head and body length is about 40–58 cm and the tail 25–38 cm. Newborns weigh about 93 g and their scales are soft, hardening after two days. The mother carries the young on her back or tail, and folds it onto her belly if threatened (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is native to southern Nepal, north-east India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, northern Indochina and southern China, and has been recorded up to 3,000 m. It is a secretive, nocturnal animal that feeds mainly on termites and ants, digging into nests and mounds with its large fore claws and extracting insects with its long sticky tongue. It digs long burrows for sleeping and hunting, and a male may let a female and baby share his burrow. Poaching for the illegal wildlife trade is a threat (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)