[7] The scales are composed of keratin, the same material that forms human hair and fingernails,[7] and give pangolins an appearance similar to a pinecone or artichoke.

[11] The muscular forelimbs and central claws are adapted for breaking into ant and termite colonies, as well as excavating burrows.

Pangolins have long, broad tails and small, conical heads with jaws that lack teeth.

To replace the act of chewing, the pangolin stomach is muscular, with keratinous spines that project into the interior and contains small stones to mash and grind prey, similarly to a bird's gizzard.

Although it is capable of digging its own burrow, the ground pangolin prefers to occupy those abandoned by warthogs or aardvarks or to lie in dense vegetation, making it even more difficult to observe.

When threatened, their defense mechanism is to curl into a ball with their scales outward, hiss and puff, and lash out with their sharp-edged tails.

[7] Pangolins are also capable of emitting noxious acid from glands near the anus, similar to a skunk, to ward off predators.

"[1] The two main threats encountered by ground pangolin populations are habitat loss and illegal trafficking.

Due to human cultivation of land, the pangolin faces habitat fragmentation and corresponding reduction in numbers.

[6] Meanwhile, illegal trade has an even stronger impact, as pangolins are reported to be the most trafficked animal in the world (with elephants a close second).

The scales alone account for 20% of the black market in protected animal parts;[12] they are boiled off the body and used for traditional medicines.

A conservative estimate of pangolins trafficked illegally each year is 10,000, while actual numbers for a two-year period may be in excess of 250,000.