Size
50 – 60 centimeters
(20 – 24 inches)
Diet
Exclusively ants and termites
Range
Ground pangolin range
Fact
Ground pangolins lack teeth, and instead have spikes inside their stomachs that help grind their insect meals.
Making A Difference
Pangolins are thought to be the world’s most trafficked mammal, with up to 2.7 million pangolins poached annually for use in traditional medicine. All eight species of pangolin worldwide are threatened with extinction. Because pangolins are difficult to maintain in human care, and most field facilities lack the resources to care for injured pangolins, conservation organizations focus on preserving their habitats and supporting local efforts to prevent poaching and trafficking. Meanwhile, a consortium of zoos worldwide is working to research and improve survival rates of pangolins in human care so that zoos can support species recovery efforts.
Ground pangolins have three long, curved claws on their front limbs that help them dig into ant and termite nests.
Ground pangolin scratching for termites
