🐾 LandCare difficulty: AdvancedLegal complexity: High — restricted in many states
Chinese pangolin
Manis pentadactyla
The Chinese pangolin is a scale-covered, ant-eating mammal and one of the most heavily trafficked wild animals in the world. Critically endangered, it is hunted relentlessly for its scales and meat, and does not survive well in captivity.
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Quick facts
| Size | Scaly anteater ~40-60 cm body plus tail, covered in keratin scales. |
| Lifespan | 10–20 years |
| Native region | Southern China, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia |
| Climate | ⛅ Subtropical |
| Genus | Manis |
Habitat & enclosure
Occupies forests, grasslands, and scrub where it digs burrows and forages for social insects. Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals on Earth, devastated by demand for their scales and meat. They are strictly protected and CITES Appendix I; this profile is conservation/education only. Pangolins fare extremely poorly in captivity, so the answer is protection in the wild, not keeping.
Diet
A highly specialized myrmecophage eating ants and termites, gathered with a long sticky tongue. This narrow diet is one reason pangolins are so difficult to maintain in captivity and why wild populations are irreplaceable.
Behavior & temperament
Nocturnal, solitary, and shy, it rolls into an armored ball when threatened — effective against natural predators but useless against human poachers, who simply pick the curled animal up. Anti-trafficking enforcement and demand reduction are central to its survival.
Reviewed and signed off by: KinStation Editorial — conservation profile (pending DVM/biologist review)