Main Characteristics

Indian Pangolins have a body length between 45 and 75 cms (18 - 29.5 inches), a tail length between 33 and 45 cms (13 - 17.7 inches) and they weigh between 5 and 35 kgs.

With the exception of its underside, the Indian Pangolin is covered in extremely hard, yellow/brown coloured scales. It rolls up into a ball to protect itself when it is threatened and they emit a foul, strong smelling fluid from their anal scent glands.

They have a small head, small eyes and small ears. Their tongue is extremely long and it can reach length of up to 25.5 cms (10 inches). On each foot they have 5 powerful claws that they use to dig and rip open termite mounds. They have poor senses of sight and hearing and they rely upon their sense of smell to locate prey.

Habitat

Indian Pangolins are found in the forests and grasslands of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan. They are nocturnal and they spend their days in a burrow or rock crevice. They are mainly ground dwelling but they are able to climb and Indian Pangolins that inhabit Sri Lanka make best use of this ability.

Diet

Indian Pangolins mainly feed on ants and termites. They rip open mounds with their claws and use their long, sticky tongue to eat their prey.

Breeding

Indian Pangolins breed year round and after a gestation period of 65 - 70 days, 1 - 2 young are born. At birth the young pangolins weigh approximately 350g (12.3 oz) and within a few days of birth their soft scales begin to harden.

At approximately 1 month old they are carried around on their mother's tail and they are weaned at 3 - 4 months old.

Predators

Predators of Indian Pangolins include humans and tigers.

Subspecies

There are no subspecies of the Indian Pangolin.

Interesting Facts

As pangolins have no teeth, their stomach is specially designed to grind up their food, with the aid of the sand and small stones that they consume.

Similar Animals

Long-Tailed Pangolin
Chinese Pangolin
Ground Pangolin
Tree Pangolin
Philippine Pangolin
Giant Pangolin
Sunda Pangolin