Pangolin Facts
for Kids

All eight pangolin species are heavily poached for illegal wildlife trade — primarily for their scales, falsely believed to have medicinal properties in parts of Asia, and for their meat, considered a delicacy. An estimated 100,000–200,000 pangolins are taken from the wild every year despite all species being protected under international law (CITES Appendix I).

Pangolins are highly specialised insectivores that eat almost exclusively ants and termites. They locate colonies using their powerful sense of smell, tear open nests with strong foreclaws, and collect insects with their extraordinarily long, sticky tongue — which can be longer than the animal's entire body and is anchored inside the chest cavity, not in the mouth.

Pangolin scales are made of keratin — the same protein found in human hair, fingernails, and rhinoceros horn. They have no pharmaceutical value. Despite this being scientifically established, illegal demand for pangolin scales continues to be the primary driver of their poaching and one of the largest illegal wildlife trades in the world.

Pangolins' primary defence is rolling into a tight ball, protecting their soft underside behind an armour of hard, sharp-edged scales. They can also emit a noxious-smelling acid from anal glands, similar to a skunk. These defences work against natural predators — but make pangolins tragically easy for poachers to collect, since a rolled pangolin cannot run or fight back.

There are eight pangolin species: four in Africa (Giant Ground Pangolin, Cape Pangolin, White-bellied Pangolin, and Black-bellied Pangolin) and four in Asia (Indian Pangolin, Philippine Pangolin, Sunda Pangolin, and Chinese Pangolin). All eight are listed on the IUCN Red List, ranging from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered, and all are banned from international commercial trade.