I was recently asked what my favorite animal
was. This may seem like a simple
straight forward question, but for me it was not. The reason for all the difficulty was that
this question involved two things that I love very much: Animals and Ranking
things in lists. My first thought, was
to ask whether I could break it down into favorite mammal, bird, fish,
etc. But before I asked the question I shushed
myself. This was indeed a simple
question and it deserved a simple answer.
So begrudgingly I went to my default, ace in the pocket, old faithful
answer. The Malayan Tapir.
The Malayan Tapir
The Malayan Tapir has been my go to favorite animal for a
number of years now. I like it because
of its uniqueness, not many people have heard of it much less list it among
their favorite animals. I also like it because it looks plain awesome, like an Elephant
Pig or some science project gone astray. Don’t let the looks fool you though, Tapirs
are more closely related to horses and rhinos than any other animal and the Malayan
Tapir is the largest in the Tapirs Family and the only species of Tapir native
to Asia. Despite my admiration for this
majestic beast I knew that it no longer help the lofty position of my favorite
animal. Over the next few days I thought
about the myriad of animals I had viewed at zoos and aquariums, seen on TV
shows, or read about in literature. I
had some free time one evening and decided to watch a BBC TV series entitled “The
Life of Mammals.” It was while doing so that I rediscovered an animal that I had
first encountered a number of years ago.
The Pangolin. (Not to be confused with Penguin)
Pangolins (of which the giant variety are my favorite) are
simply stated an incredible animal and upon rediscovering them I knew instantly
that I have found a winner. Pangolins
look like an anteater in chainmail. A
dinosaur crossed with a M1A1 Abram. An alien from another realm. However you describe them to appear they are
arguably unlike any animal you have ever seen before. Pangolins come in a range of sizes but to
avoid confusion I will focus on the giant pangolins that are native to sub-Saharan
Africa. If my imaginative descriptions of
pangolins from earlier didn’t paint a visual image of this creature for you
than nothing will so simply refer to the images below. There are several traits that make the giant
pangolin so cool, the most noticeable of these is probably the scales that
cover their bodies. Other mammals have
protective hardware; porcupines with quills and armadillos with tough plates,
but no mammal other that the pangolin has scales. Moreover, these scales not only offer
protection from large predators but also neatly overlap to provide protection from
the bites of ants and other stinging insects that the pangolin feeds upon. Another power the pangolin possesses is the ability
to emit pungent acid from a special set of glands; this acid is comparable to
the spray of a skunk and is an effective way to deter predators. Finally,
the giant pangolin is remarkable because it doesn’t use its front legs for
walking. Instead it uses its back legs and
tail for balance groping through the underbrush with the look of a drunken velociraptor. These animals can weigh up to 70lbs and reach
4.5 feet in length. Their scales are not
those of a reptile or fish but are actually made up of keratin, the same stuff
human figure nails are made of. Fortunately,
pangolins are ranked as “Low Risk” on the conservation status list meaning that
they are doing alright in the wild, we can only hope that this will remain the
case and that this odd creature will continue to thrive.
Walking on Back Legs
Defensive Position
Armament
No comments:
Post a Comment