AOTW Fact File: Tree Pangolin

This week's AOTW* fact file is on..... the Tree Pangolin (my brother's favourite animal)! Here is some information about it.

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Characteristics

Fully grown Tree Pangolins are 12 to 34 inches (30 to 86 cm) long and their tails are 11 to 34 inches (28 to 86 cm) long. They live in rainforests in Central America but mostly kept in zoos now for protection. Its predators are leopards, hyenas and pythons so to protect itself, it curls up into a tight ball almost impossible for a human to unroll. Predators then stay away because it looks like a pinecone and they don't eat pinecones.

Diet

They're carnivores and they only eat termites and ants so they have a really long tongue to help them eat and it can reach up to 10 inches (25 cm). It's estimated that Pangolins eat around 70 million insects per year. They don't gain much weight from eating them as they only weigh from 1.8 to 2.4 kilograms.

Reproduction

A baby Tree Pangolin is born after a gestation of 150 days and just like humans, one baby at a time is normal but more is possible. They are carried around on its mother's tail for three months but it will stay with her for five months total. At first their scales are soft but then they soon start to harden.

Fact of the day: Pangolins have poor vision and hearing, but their sense of smell is strong

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Word Count: 244

Character Count: 1402

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Sources:

http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/mammals/tree-pangolin

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/tree-pangolin

http://www.pangolins.org/2012/02/18/25-facts-about-pangolins/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_pangolin

http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/pangolins/tree_pangolin.html

*Animal of the Week

#animals #endangerment #pangolin #aotw