It's World Pangolin Day

I have not seen a pangolin in the wild. And today I realised why - we seem to have decimated them - as with so many other species.  Why oh Why?

My parents could have done with a pangolin in their midst - they recently discovered that the wooden particle board behind their electrical switchboard  had served as termite food!

Now, if there had been a pangolin around, it would have put out its looong tongue and slurped those termites away

There are eight types of pangolins - 

• Thick-tailed Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) This is the one we have in India
• Phillipine Pangolin (Manis culionensis) 
• Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica) 
• Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) 
• Three-Cusped Pangolin, also called as African White-Bellied Pangolin and Tree Pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) 
• Giant Ground Pangolin (Smutsia gigantean) 
• Cape Pangolin, also called as Temminck's Pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) 
• Long-Tailed Pangolin, also called as Black-Bellied Pangolin (Uromanis tetradactyla)

Source:  http://pangolins.org

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the population of pangolins is at a threatening low.