Pangolin, where do you roam?
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Zookeeper Hector holds Baby, the youngest white-bellied tree pangolin at the Texas zoo. (AP) -
Seven pangolins are part of a conservation effort to save the most stolen and illegally sold animal species. (AP) -
Pangolins have scales for defense. They also curl up to protect themselves. (AP) -
Baby’s tail keeps the pangolin from falling. Its long tongue catches ants for food. (AP) -
Even pangolin babies are covered in scales. (AP)
Not many pangolins [PAN-go-lins] live in China. People catch and sell them. That is against the law.
Others helped save one. Then they set it free. Will it find pangolin friends?
READ MORE: China once had thousands of pangolins. But people want their meat and scales. Some steal the pinecone-like animals from their forest homes. Not many are left. Pangolins eat only ants and termites. They may look like anteaters. But they are related to bears, cats, and dogs! Ogden Nash wrote a poem about these creatures. He said, “They’re pangolincredible!” Genesis 2 tells us that Adam named the animals. Do you suppose he was the first person to say that pangolins were incredible?
