Ever think to your hungry self “I could really go for a giant, roly-poly, tree-climbing, toothless anteater with scales, right about now?”
Me neither.
But in Gabon it happens.
Meet the pangolin. In the old days, before extinction was a very real threat, pangolin was considered top notch bush meat – great for beefing up stews and slathering with spicy sauces.
The only catch is, once this delightful animal rolls up into a ball, even lions cannot break through the scales to get a nibble.
Nice.
The scales are supposedly strong enough for armor. Just ask King George III – if you have a time machine handy (anyone friends with the Doctor?).
Happy Fun Fact Friday!
So where do you buy pangolin to eat?
I’m pretty sure you can’t buy it… now that it’s on the endangered list. Anyone who sells it is probably shady.
You can buy them at the Qingping Market in Canton. Hey why not buy one and keep it as a cute pet?
I’m not sure how cuddly it would be…
They make me think of armor, King Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table…
I voted other-they are not cute or appetizing but they are sure super cool. Talk about great protection!
Little known fact – I took as many possible classes about Arthuriana in college as I could (not at the CIA, at Wesleyan in CT). I even taught a medieval cooking tutorial. LOVE all things King Arthur.
Kinda like a rolly polly..remember collecting those little buggers as a child? As soon as they felt in danger..they would roll…and I would throw (carefully) them in a plastic cup and you can here them rolling round in there like a dried chick pea…now those were cute!..although if you’ve ever seen a close up shot of a beautiful butterfly or an innocent ladybug…not so “cute”..
This was very interesting..thank you for sharing….good for my studetns!
Oh yes, I remember the roly poly – but I never picked them up. I was a bit squeamish which… by the way… Ava seems to be too. Whoops.
I love pangolins. They’re my favorite animal and I can’t even wrap my mind around so many people wanting this cute animal on a dinner plate or on their purse as design. I would honestly keep one as a pet if I could. Save the pangolins folks!