Critically endangered Sunda pangolin caught on camera trap.
Camera traps bring you closer to the secretive natural world and are an important conservation tool to study wildlife.
This month we’re meeting the world’s most trafficked mammal: the Sunda pangolin.
The Sunda pangolin ( Manis javanica), also known as the Malayan or Javan pangolin, is a unique mammal native to Southeast Asia.
Pangolins are covered by many rows of overlapping scales, which are made from keratin, the same protein that forms human hair and fingernails.
The scales never stop growing and are constantly filed down as the animals dig burrows and forage for insects.
Pangolins use their acute olfactory senses to find insects and their powerful claws to dig into the ground in search of ant nests or to tear into termite mounds.
To collect the insects, they use their extremely long and thin tongues, capable of extending about 25 cm, which are covered with sticky saliva.
To protect themselves from ant or termite attacks, pangolins have special muscles that can seal their nostrils, ears, and mouths.
Camera traps bring you closer to the secretive natural world and are an important conservation tool to study wildlife.
This month we’re meeting the world’s most trafficked mammal: the Sunda pangolin.
The Sunda pangolin ( Manis javanica), also known as the Malayan or Javan pangolin, is a unique mammal native to Southeast Asia.
Pangolins are covered by many rows of overlapping scales, which are made from keratin, the same protein that forms human hair and fingernails.
The scales never stop growing and are constantly filed down as the animals dig burrows and forage for insects.
Pangolins use their acute olfactory senses to find insects and their powerful claws to dig into the ground in search of ant nests or to tear into termite mounds.
To collect the insects, they use their extremely long and thin tongues, capable of extending about 25 cm, which are covered with sticky saliva.
To protect themselves from ant or termite attacks, pangolins have special muscles that can seal their nostrils, ears, and mouths.
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