Meet Miss L., a primary student at SIS and a true self-starter, inquirer, and initiator! Driven by her curiosity, Miss L. wanted to learn about something new, different, and a little more unusual. While many of us know about animals like giraffes and penguins, she became fascinated by pangolins and reached out to a friend who knows a lot about these remarkable animals. She asked questions, learned more, and turned that curiosity into this article to share her discoveries with others. 

Miss L. is also an active member of both our school newsletter and school media team, so we have a feeling you’ll be hearing more from her throughout the year! At SIS, we are proud to celebrate students who take the initiative to follow their interests, ask questions, and share their learning with the community. We hope you enjoy discovering these fascinating animals through Miss L.’s eyes! 

What kind of animals are Pangolins? 

Pangolin. The word Pangolin is an Asian word that means rolling. 

Pangolins lived on the world already before many million years. When you speak about those animals we call them living fossils. Their meat is in Africa and Asia very popular. A baby Pangolin can weight 2 kilograms. We don't know how old Pangolins are when they are an adult. People don't know so much about those animals. 

Baby Pangolins are also carried from their parents. They climb on the back of them, but it is very slippery. 

What is interesting and what is special about Pangolins? 

Pangolins are very good swimmers. They like to swim as an cooling or that they get clean. But theres another way for the Pangolins to get clean. They lick between their dandruffs to get out insects and dirt.

What fascinates you so much about the animals? 

The tail of the Pangolin is almost the half of their whole body. Their tongue is very long. Pangolins smell like snakes with their tongue. Pangolins are no reptiles. 

How do they protect? 

Pangolins are the only mammals that have dandruff. The dandruffs are out of Hornsubstanz/Keratin. The same material as your finger nails are made of. The dandruffs can move. They can be closed or open. When a Pangolin is scared it closes his dandruffs. 

How many scales dandruffs do they have? 

The tummy from the Pangolin is the only place without dandruffs. The point is very vulnerable. The only animal that could crack the dandruffs is the badger. When something attacks the Pangolin it rolls up very hard that they can't open it. 

What are the things everyone should know about Pangolins? 

They have very long claws that they use for digging. A pangolin walks up two feet that the claws do not disturb it. The head of the Pangolin has the same weight as its tail. 

What do they eat? And how much? 

Their tongue is very sticky. The insects are very sticky to the tongue and then swallowed. They don't have teeth but they have a tummy that makes everything little. Pangolins need to go after 1-3 minutes to another ants nest because they put poison after 1-3 minutes so the Pangolin goes away. 

Where do they live? 

Pangolins live in Africa. One spot where they live is Namibia. 

When are they active? 

Pangolins are night active. 

Are there different sorts of Pangolins? 

The Pangolins are related with the cheetah and the lion. You would maybe think it is related with the armadila or with the ant tiger. Because of the dandruffs or because of the long tongue or because of the crawls. 

Pangolins eat termites and ants like the ant tiger. In the animal kingdom is doesnt guilt(count) how they look but what happened before 1.000 years, they are related. 

Where do you know all of this from? 

I know those information from a reportage. Its called Anna und die Wilden Tiere Folge: Das Tannenzapfen tier.