Unique Pangolin Facts You Should Know<br /><br />The Pangolin is the world's only animal with hard, overlapping scales that cover its entire body<br />When threatened, the pangolin curls up into an armour-plated ball to keep predators at bay<br />Keratin, the same protein that makes up human nails, hair, and animal claws or talons, is used to make their scales<br />Even large cats find it difficult to pierce a pangolin's armour<br />Pangolins are bipedal, which means they can walk on their hind legs while keeping their front limbs and tail off the ground as a counter-balance<br />The pangolin is regarded to be prehistoric, with an estimated lifespan of approximately 80 million years on the planet<br />The tongue of a pangolin can be as long as its body<br />Some species have prehensile tails that assist them climb trees by allowing them to hang from branches<br />While feeding, they can close their ears and nose to keep insects outout<br />A pangolin is thought to eat about 70 million insects every year<br />Pangolins rely significantly on their senses of smell and hearing due to their small eyes and poor vision<br />Pangolin babies cling to their mother's scales and ride on her backback.<br />The presence of bristles that sprout from between the scales distinguishes Asian pangolins from African ones<br />Over 1,000 scales can be found on the sunda pangolin<br />The illegal pangolin trade is believed to be valued around $19 billion (£12.7 billion) each yearyear<br />Pangolin products are believed to have therapeutic benefit by 70% of Chinese populationpopulation<br />Pangolins are used to ‘enable invisibility' in traditional Yorubic medicine in Nigeria<br />In captivity, 70% of pangolins do not survive more than a yearyear<br />Unfortunately, all eight pangolin species could be extinct in the near future.
