The eight species of pangolins are considered to be the most commonly trafficked animals in the wildlife trade. They are mainly traded for their scales, which continue to be a key ingredient in some Chinese traditional medicines, even after China enacted a ban on pangolin scales in June. Pangolin meat is also considered to be a delicacy in many countries, which is another factor driving the trade.
The birth of a pangolin
Pangolins are threatened placental mammals distributed in Africa and Asia. Many efforts have been undertaken in the last century to maintain pangolins in captivity, but only a few of them succeeded in maintaining and keeping this species in a controlled environment. This study reports the first systematic breeding of the Critically Endangered Malayan pangolin (Manis javanica) in captivity. Our captive breeding approach successfully improved the reproductive rate for both wild and captive-born female pangolins. From 2016 to 2020, we had 33 wild pangolins and produced 49 captive-born offspring spanning three filial generations. The female offspring further bred 18 offspring, of which 14 (78%) were conceived during the first time of cohabitation with males, and four offspring were conceived during the second cohabitation event, suggesting that they may practice copulation-induced ovulation. We observed that captive-born female pangolins could reach sexual maturity at 7-9 months (n = 4), and male pangolins could mate and successfully fertilise females at nine months age (n = 1). We also observed a female pangolin conceiving on the eighth day after parturition (the fifth day after the death of its pup). Our captive pangolins had a female-biased sex ratio of 1:0.5 at birth, unlike other known captive-born mammals. Also, captive-born pangolins were generally more viable after successful weaning and had a similar gestation length (185 days) to wild pangolins. Most importantly, we report the first self-sustaining captive population of Malayan pangolins, and this species has an efficient reproduction strategy. These advances provide more comprehensive information for people to understand pangolins, and have implications for conserving endangered Malayan pangolins and providing scientific guidance to the management of other pangolin species.
Pangolins are often called scaly anteaters, which is a very good description for them, even though they are not closely related to anteaters. Like anteaters, pangolins have long snouts and even longer tongues that they use to slurp up ants and termites. Their bodies are covered in scales that form a kind of armor.
The scales are made from keratin, the same thing as human hair and fingernails. When threatened, pangolins roll up into a ball. If the other animal gets caught between the scales, it can get a nasty cut. Pangolin is a name derived from the Malay word "pengguling," which means "rolling over."
A pangolin's scales make up 15 percent of its weight, according to the African Wildlife Foundation. These animals have many different colors. They can be a light sandy color, dark brown, olive-brown, pale olive or yellowish-brown. [Pangolin Photos: Scaly Mammals Threatened with Extinction]
There are eight different pangolin species, which vary in size from 12 inches (30.5 centimeters) to 39 inches (99 cm) long. They weigh from about 3.5 lbs. (1.6 kilograms) to 73 lbs. (33 kg), according to the Save Pangolins organization.
Their tongues are quite amazing. When extended, their tongues are longer than their bodies and head combined. Unlike humans and many other animals, the pangolin's tongue is connected not in its mouth, but at the bottom of its ribcage. When not in use, the tongue is stored in the animal's chest cavity.
As nocturnal animals, pangolins spend their days sleeping and their nights foraging for food and digging their burrow. There is very little known about their habits and social activities because they have not been studied extensively.
These animals are insectivores, which means their diet consists completely of insects. Pangolins don't have teeth. They use their long claws to open up ant and termite hills, then use their sticky tongue to slurp up insects and swallow them whole. Like birds, pangolins swallow small stones. The stones are used to crush and digest food in the stomach.
Female pangolins have a gestation period of five months and give birth to just one live baby. At birth, babies, called pangopups, are only about 6 inches (15.24 cm) long and weigh 12 ounces (340 grams), according to the African Wildlife Foundation. Their scales are pink and soft, but start to harden after a day.
Pangolins are hunted for their meat, which is considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, and for their scales, which are believed to have medicinal qualities. (There is no evidence that they do, according to Pangolins.org.) World Pangolin Day is marked on the third Saturday in February as an opportunity to raise awareness about pangolins and their plight.
According to the World Wildlife Federation, pangolins are one of the most trafficked mammals in Asia and Africa. It is estimated that between the years of 2011 and 2013, 116,990 to 233,980 pangolins were killed. Asian pangolins populations are estimated to have declined by up to 80 percent in the last 10 years.
Reproductive parameters, such as age of sexual maturity, breeding season, gestation period, litter size, and sex ratio at birth are basic data for the scientific management of wildlife populations and the prediction of future trends. They are also fundamental for making plans for the captive breeding of pangolins. However, reproductive parameters of the Chinese pangolin are fragmentary, and presented in few studies; data have been mainly based on talking with hunters, dissecting dead pregnant pangolins, and noting rescued pregnant pangolins that gave birth in captivity. Additionally, most of these parameters have been presented as a range, which is not accurate (Chao et al. 1993, Cheng et al. 2000, Heath and Vanderlip 1988, Liu and Xu 1981, Luo et al. 1993, Masui 1967, Ogilvie and Bridgwater 1967, Wang 1990, Wu 1998, Zhu-Ge and Huang 1989). Data from direct observations in captivity are unusually scarce (Chin et al. 2011, Shi and Wang 1985, Yang et al. 2001, 2007). Length of the gestation period of the Chinese pangolin in the Taipei Zoo has varied considerably. Yang et al. (2007) suggested the gestation period was less than 169d, however, Chin et al. (2011) thought that it might be from 318 to 372d. Further research on reproductive parameters of the Chinese pangolin is needed, with more direct observations taken.
Breast and waxy secretion covering the nipple surface of the female pangolin MP8 for the parturition the day before (by Fuhua Zhang, 18 Oct 2011). a breast b nipple c waxy secretion covering the nipple surface.
Body weight change of the female pangolin MP8 during the gestation period (from 8 Mar to 19 Oct 2011). A duration for MP8 housing with MP1 together B date of MP8 giving birth.
The adult pangolins, a female Run Hou Tang and a male named Guo Bao were acquired by Prague Zoo from Taiwan last April. It became the second zoo in Europe to breed these bizarre and highly endangered mammals.
"The birth of a small pangolin in Prague Zoo is an important and endearing fruit of diplomacy. We have rare pangolins in Prague only thanks to a close partnership with the Taiwanese metropolis of Taipei, which we established three years ago," says Zdeněk Hřib, Mayor of Prague.
Breeding pangolins is very demanding, it is necessary, among other things, to prepare a special mash for them, the basic component of which are the larvae of bee drones. Run Hou Tang's pregnancy was also closely monitored.
The pair of pangolins that we received from Taipei Zoo is the second pair ever sent to Europe. Only Zoo Leipzig and Prague Zoo are keeping pangolins. So there were big expectations, because the animals are very fragile. They need very specific conditions when kept in captivity.
There are two main factors that make it really hard to keep pangolins in captivity. First of all, the food. They eat a very specific nutritious mesh made out of many different ingredients, one of them being the bee larvae.
Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters,[5] are mammals of the order Pholidota (/fɒlɪˈdoʊtə/). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: Manis, Phataginus, and Smutsia.[6] Manis comprises four species found in Asia, while Phataginus and Smutsia include two species each, all found in sub-Saharan Africa.[7] These species range in size from 30 to 100 cm (12 to 39 in). A number of extinct pangolin species are also known.
Pangolins are threatened by poaching (for their meat and scales, which are used in traditional medicine[8][9]) and heavy deforestation of their natural habitats, and they are the most trafficked mammals in the world.[10] As of January 2020[update], there are eight species of pangolin whose conservation status is listed in the threatened tier. Three (Manis culionensis, M. pentadactyla and M. javanica) are critically endangered, three (Phataginus tricuspis, Manis crassicaudata and Smutsia gigantea) are endangered and two (Phataginus tetradactyla and Smutsia temminckii) are vulnerable on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[11]
The name "pangolin" comes from the Malay word pengguling meaning "one who rolls up"[12] from guling or giling "to roll"; it was used for the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica).[13] However, the modern name is tenggiling. In Javanese it is terenggiling;[13] and in the Philippine languages, it is goling, tanggiling, or balintong (with the same meaning).[14]
The physical appearance of a pangolin is marked by large, hardened, overlapping, plate-like scales, which are soft on newborn pangolins, but harden as the animal matures.[citation needed] They are made of keratin, the same material from which human fingernails and tetrapod claws are made, and are structurally and compositionally very different from the scales of reptiles.[16] The pangolin's scaled body is comparable in appearance to a pine cone. It can curl up into a ball when threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as armor, while it protects its face by tucking it under its tail. The scales are sharp, providing extra defense from predators.[17] 2ff7e9595c
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