Giant Pangolin
From Freepedia
| Giant Pangolin Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||||
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| Manis gigantea Illiger, 1815 |
The Giant Pangolin is the largest species of pangolin, found in Africa. It is a large, scaled mammal, belonging to the Manidae family, and subsists almost entirely on ants and termites.
Like all pangolins, the giant pangolin is a specialized insectivore, and like other pangolins subsists largely by digging into ant and termite nests, or breaking into termite mounds, and eating the exposed insects by picking them up with a long, sticky tongue. Because of its relatively large size, the giant pangolin is particularly well suited to breaking open termite mounds, which it does by leaning on the mound whilst resting its weight on its tail, and then ripping into the mound with its front claws. The combination of weight and physical damage quickly lead to partial collapse of the mound, exposing the termites.
The giant pangolin is found in several countries, including Uganda, Tanzania, and western parts of Kenya, generally in savannah or forested areas. Following agricultural development and deforestation its natural habitat area has been reduced. This, together with its being hunted for bushmeat, has led to concerns about population levels, but because the species is nocturnal this has not been well-studied.
