In some parts of Africa and Asia there lives a creature called a pangolin. The pangolin is a medium-size animal, about a metre long. It has short legs and a very long, stout tail.
There are many things about the pangolin that make it seem stranger or unusual.
The first strange thing about this creature is its tongue. The pangolin's tongue extends for about 40 cm beyond its mouth. Because its feeds on onts, the tongue is long and sticky. When a pangolin sports a column of ants, it extends it tongue and the ants stick to it.
When the ants are safely in the pangolin's mouth, the creature simply swallows them, for it has no teeth to chew with. The muscular walls of its stomach then begin to digest the food. Sometimes, the pangolin has pebbles in its stomach. The muscular action of the stomach and the pebbles help digestion.
Most creatures have some means of protecting themselves. Some have long claws and sharp teeth; some look very fierce; others can run very fast and thus avoid danger. Some small creatures even change color when danger is near. The pangolin cannot change color. It does not have sharp teeth, nor can it run fast. It has, instead, a coat of armour.
The pangolin is covered with scales. These scales overlap like the tiles on a roof. When threatened by the slightest danger, the pangolin simply tucks its head into its chest and rools itself up into a ball. There is very little chance of any other creature unrolling this ball. The pangolin just waits in this position till the danger has passed.
Although the pangolin has long, sharp claws, it does not use these for the purpose of defence. It uses its claws to dig away the hard earth from ant hills. They are also used when the pangolin wants to hang fropm a branch. The pangolin is a good tree climber. With the help of its powerful tail it can geta good grip on a branch.
You can find out more about this creature from an encyclopaedia or from a book on animals.
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