Treasure of the month: The pangolin

23 April 2020

It is the only mammal to wear a pangolin. In the course of evolution, pangolins have adapted to completely different habitats: In the tropical rainforest of central Africa, they swing from tree to tree, while steppe pangolins stay on the ground and walk through savannas. Although their carapace actually provides them with excellent protection against animal predators, human poachers are not impressed by this. No other mammal is trafficked illegally worldwide as often as the pangolin.

Our treasure of the month is in the exhibition of the Museum of Nature - Zoology. It is a Malayan pangolin, which has the scientific name Manis javanica. Our specimen was integrated into the LIB collection in 1983 and comes from a German collection. In the LIB department of mammalogy there are 24 very different pangolin specimens, which on the one hand come from German zoos, like Hamburg and Duisburg, and on the other hand directly from their home countries. Whole specimens of different species, for example from Cameroon, Namibia and Tanzania, are stored in jars full of alcohol. In addition, individual scales, skulls, skeletons as well as dermoplastics also belong to the LIB collection.

In total, there are eight different species - four each in Asia and Africa. There, pangolins live in savannas, forests and bushes. As a rule, they grow as large as domestic cats - but two of the African species can weigh up to 30 kilograms. Their hind legs are stronger than their front limbs, so they can stand bipedally and even walk. A trait that is useful in both fighting and mating. In both cases, they thrust their chests together to impress their respective opponents with their strength. Their smaller front legs serve mainly as digging and climbing tools.

Nocturnal, they locate their prey with the help of their good ears and a fine nose. They hunt termites and ants, of which they eat between 300 grams and two kilograms, depending on the size of the animal. The insects' burrows are broken open with claws that could even destroy thin cement slabs or metal walls. The pangolins then extend their sticky tongues, up to 70 centimeters long, to slurp up the prey.

Their preferred defense strategy is obvious: like hedgehogs, they curl up. For this reason, they are also called pangolins. The name comes from the Malay word pengguling ("one who curls up"). Curled up, they are protected by their armor from almost all their potential enemies. With one exception: humans. Poachers simply pick up the seemingly defenseless, curled-up animals. Even though pangolins, like skunks, can spray a foul-smelling liquid, they rarely use this defense against humans.

Between the years 2000 and 2015 alone, about 120 tons of biomass were illegally traded, according to a study by TRAFFIC - not counting local black markets in Asia and Africa. CeNak also has specimens and animal articles of pangolins that stopped off in Germany on illegal routes and were handed over by customs at the Zoological Museum. 100,000 smuggled animals cross the German border alone every year.

On the smuggling route from Asia to Africa, Germany is an increasingly popular transit country - say researchers from the University of Adelaide. Unfortunately, pangolins do not only end up in the cooking pot with the corresponding gourmets, but also leave their scales for traditional, Asian medicinal products. These consist, like our hair and nails, predominantly of keratin and are thus medically ineffective.

Further information

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