the.com/pangolin
the only mammal armored like a medieval knight and shy enough to faint at conflict.
means A scaly, insect-eating mammal of Africa and Asia that rolls into a tight ball when threatened, prized by poachers and now among the world's most trafficked animals.
from From Malay 'pengguling,' meaning 'one that rolls up' — built on the root 'guling,' to roll — a name earned by the creature's signature defensive trick of curling into an armored sphere. English borrowed it in the early 19th century, keeping the rolling baked right into the word.
- living artichoke
- Scales are keratin, same stuff as your fingernails.
- tongue length
- Tongue can be longer than its entire body.
- most trafficked
- The world's most illegally traded wild mammal.
- roll defense
- Curls into a ball lions can't pry open.
- no teeth
- Swallows stones to grind insects in its stomach.
manis javanica — malaysian pangolin, most trafficked mammal species with over 1 million poached annually
manis pentadactyla — chinese pangolin, critically endangered, primary target of wildlife trafficking networks
manis temminckii — ground pangolin of southern africa, scales sold for traditional medicine in asia