THEY have been called the most hunted animal in the world, so perhaps you can鈥檛 blame this pangolin for hiding its face.
Temminck鈥檚 ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) is found across a vast swathe of eastern and southern Africa. It has no teeth 鈥� pangolins are Africa鈥檚 ecological answer to anteaters, tearing into termite mounds and pulling out insects with their sticky tongues, as this one is doing in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. Its tools are tough claws that it curls under its arms when it walks.
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The mammal is secretive and nocturnal. While it can rely on its formidable scales for protection against hyenas and leopards 鈥� its traditional hunters 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 fare well against people after it for bushmeat or bogus medicine. The extraordinary armour is made of the same stuff as hair; burning the scales is thought in parts of East Africa to repel lions, or they can be used in 鈥渕edicine鈥�. In some areas, it is considered good luck to present a pangolin to the local chief, village shaman or rainmaker. None of this supposed luck rubs off on the animal, of course.
The IUCN Red List of endangered species classifies Temminck鈥檚 ground pangolin as vulnerable to extinction, and projects a decline in population size of between 30 and 40 per cent in the next few decades.
Photographer
Jen Guyton
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淧eekaboo pangolin鈥�
