The Pangolin is the world's only animal with hard, overlapping scales that cover its entire body When threatened, the pangolin curls up into an armour-plated ball to keep predators at bay Keratin, the same protein that makes up human nails, hair, and animal claws or talons, is used to make their scales Even large cats find it difficult to pierce a pangolin's armour Pangolins are bipedal, which means they can walk on their hind legs while keeping their front limbs and tail off the ground as a counter-balance The pangolin is regarded to be prehistoric, with an estimated lifespan of approximately 80 million years on the planet The tongue of a pangolin can be as long as its body Some species have prehensile tails that assist them climb trees by allowing them to hang from branches While feeding, they can close their ears and nose to keep insects outout A pangolin is thought to eat about 70 million insects every year Pangolins rely significantly on their senses of smell and hearing due to their small eyes and poor vision Pangolin babies cling to their mother's scales and ride on her backback. The presence of bristles that sprout from between the scales distinguishes Asian pangolins from African ones Over 1,000 scales can be found on the sunda pangolin The illegal pangolin trade is believed to be valued around $19 billion (£12.7 billion) each yearyear Pangolin products are believed to have therapeutic benefit by 70% of Chinese populationpopulation Pangolins are used to ‘enable invisibility' in traditional Yorubic medicine in Nigeria In captivity, 70% of pangolins do not survive more than a yearyear Unfortunately, all eight pangolin species could be extinct in the near future.
