Pangolins are solitary, nocturnal creatures, sleeping for long periods during the day. They like to hide in burrows underground, then at night they climb up into the trees. They eat insects, ants and termites especially. They have short stumpy limbs and very big claws. Their tails are immensely strong, able to grip like an anchor and support their entire weight for climbing and reaching across branches. The most striking thing about them, though, is how prehistoric they are in appearance! Somewhere between a small dinosaur and mongoose, but without the sharp teeth.

On Wednesday this week I joined the animal husbandry team for the weekly weigh in at the Pangolin house. Two lucky specimens of Sunda Pangolin are recovering after their rescue, being fed up and made ready for release back into the wild. First, a new enclosure, of which there are twelve, was cleaned and made ready for each of them. Fresh food – well, a scoop of frozen dead ants – was put in for them and fresh water. Each enclosure consists of a downward sloping concrete tunnel, to mimic the burrow, and an open area with logs and tree branches for climbing. Then the pangolin was woken up and lifted from his old burrow. To weigh them the handler first weighs himself, then steps back on the scales with pangolin firmly gripped by the tail. It looks cruel, but it isn’t. Hanging upside down is fairly ‘normal’. Finally, the old enclosure was cleaned and disinfected ready for…. another occupant.

The pangolin enclosure isn’t open to zoo visitors, except as part of an educational tour. On the walls there are some clever information boards aimed at children so they might learn to value and protect the Pangolin. Even better, the whole place was built with funds donated by the UK Embassy here in Laos.

1 Nov 2019