Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica): Facts and Conservation

What does a Sunda pangolin look like?

From the top of its snout to the tip of its tail, the Sunda pangolin is covered in rows of large, overlapping scales that make it look like a walking pine cone. The scales are olive brown to yellowish brown and have sharp rear edges. They are made of keratin, the same protein as human hair and fingernails, and grow throughout the animal’s life.

The face, throat, belly and inner legs have no scales. These parts are covered in sparse whitish or pale brown hair over gray or bluish skin, and, as in other Asian pangolins, a few bristly hairs grow between the scales. The head is small and cone-shaped, with small eyes and thick eyelids, and the long, thick tail is almost as long as the body. The front feet carry long, curved claws for digging.

Pangolins are not reptiles and not related to anteaters or armadillos, even though they look similar. Their closest living relatives are the carnivorans, the group that includes cats, dogs and bears. The full story is in are pangolins reptiles.

How big is a Sunda pangolin?

Males are larger and heavier than females. The Sunda pangolin is larger and paler than its close relative, the Chinese pangolin, and has shorter front claws.

Habitat and range

The Sunda pangolin lives in mainland and island Southeast Asia: southern Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and the islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo and some of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is the most widespread of the Asian pangolins.

It prefers primary and secondary forest but also lives in scrub, rubber and oil palm plantations, gardens and parks, as long as there are enough ants and termites and safe places to rest. In Singapore it survives in forest patches close to the city, where road traffic is one of its main dangers.

There are eight recognized pangolin species, four in Asia and four in Africa. The Philippine pangolin of Palawan was once treated as part of the Sunda pangolin but is now a separate species.

Diet: ants and termites

The Sunda pangolin is an insectivore that eats almost nothing but ants and termites, along with their eggs, larvae and pupae. It finds nests mainly by smell, since its eyesight is poor. With its powerful front claws it rips open termite mounds, rotten logs and ant nests in trees, then probes the tunnels with its tongue.

The tongue is extremely long, thin and coated in sticky saliva. Its root is not in the mouth at all but deep in the chest, which lets the pangolin push it far into insect tunnels. Pangolins have no teeth. Instead, the muscular, spiny lining of the stomach, helped by small stones and grit swallowed with the food, grinds the insects up. Thick eyelids and nostrils that close keep biting ants out.

Pangolins are often choosy eaters. Studies of several species show that an individual may concentrate on just a few kinds of ants or termites even when many others are available, which is one reason they are so hard to feed in captivity.

A single pangolin can eat a great many insects in one night, and pangolins are thought to help keep termite and ant numbers in check. The way pangolins feed is remarkably like that of the giant anteater of South America, an example of unrelated animals evolving similar tools for the same diet.

Behavior: climbing, rolling and hiding

Sunda pangolins are solitary and nocturnal. By day they sleep curled up in burrows, tree hollows or the bases of trees. At night they forage both on the ground and in the trees. They are strong climbers, gripping bark with their claws and wrapping their prehensile tail around branches; the tail can even support the animal’s weight while it hangs.

When threatened, a pangolin first freezes or flees. If that fails, it tucks its head under its tail and rolls into a tight ball, leaving only hard scales exposed. It can also lash its tail and produce a strong-smelling secretion from glands near the base of the tail. These defenses are explained in how do pangolins protect themselves.

The main natural predators are large cats, including tigers and clouded leopards, but few predators can open a rolled-up adult pangolin.

Reproduction and life cycle

Much of the Sunda pangolin’s breeding biology is still poorly known, partly because it is so secretive. Females usually give birth to a single young, rarely two, after a pregnancy thought to last roughly four months or more, with estimates varying between studies. The newborn has soft, pale scales that harden within a few days.

The mother carries her young on her back or at the base of her tail as she forages, and wraps her body around it if danger threatens. The young starts eating insects at around three months old; in studies of captive Sunda pangolins, cubs were typically weaned after about 130 days. The age at which young pangolins become independent and start breeding is still poorly documented, and how long Sunda pangolins live in the wild is not known.

Sunda pangolin vs other pangolins

Eight pangolin species are currently recognized, all in the family Manidae. Four live in Asia and belong to the genus Manis; four live in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2023 scientists also described a possible ninth species, known so far only from scales seized from traffickers.

Asian pangolins differ from African ones in having bristly hairs growing between their scales. Among the Asian species, the Sunda pangolin is the most widespread and one of the better climbers, while the Indian pangolin is mostly a ground-dwelling burrower. The largest species, the giant pangolin of Africa, can weigh three times as much as a big Sunda pangolin.

Why the Sunda pangolin is so hard to study

Scientists still know surprisingly little about this species in the wild. It is active only at night, spends the day hidden in burrows or high in tree hollows, and has become rare in many places where it was once common. Much of what is known comes from radio-tracking studies in a few protected areas and from animals rescued from traders.

Rescued pangolins are difficult to care for. Many arrive stressed, dehydrated or injured from being kept in sacks and freezers, and their narrow diet of live ants and termites is hard to replace. Specialist centers have improved their methods over the last two decades, and some rehabilitated animals have been released and tracked back in the forest. Captive breeding, however, has so far had only limited success, so it cannot replace protecting wild populations.

In Singapore, researchers and volunteers keep a mapped record of pangolin sightings, rescues and road deaths, which helps planners decide where to place wildlife crossings and fences along busy roads.

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

The IUCN Red List classifies the Sunda pangolin as Critically Endangered, the highest threat category before extinction in the wild. It was moved up to this category in 2014, and its numbers are still falling across most of its range.

The main threat is hunting for the illegal trade. Pangolins are taken for their meat, eaten as a luxury food, and for their scales, used in traditional medicine even though keratin has no proven medical value. Because a rolled-up pangolin can simply be picked up, hunters with dogs can catch them easily. Habitat loss, forest fires and road traffic add to the pressure. The trade is explained in why are pangolins trafficked.

All eight pangolin species were moved to Appendix I of CITES in 2016, which banned commercial international trade in wild pangolins and their parts. The species is also protected by law in every country where it lives, and rescue centers in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore care for animals seized from traders. Pangolins are hard to keep in captivity because of their specialist diet, which makes protecting wild populations especially important.

Myths and facts

Myth: Pangolin scales cure illness. The scales are made of keratin, just like human nails. There is no scientific evidence that they treat any disease.

Myth: Pangolins are a kind of anteater or armadillo. They look similar and share some habits, but pangolins belong to their own order, Pholidota, and are more closely related to cats and dogs.

Myth: Pangolins caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2 were found in Sunda pangolins seized from traffickers, which led to early speculation. Whole-genome comparisons showed the pangolin viruses were not close enough to be the direct source, and there is no evidence that pangolins started the pandemic.

Fact: The name “pangolin” comes from Malay. It comes from a Malay word meaning roughly “one that rolls up”, first used for this very species.

Pangolins and people

The Sunda pangolin has a place in the traditions of several Indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah on Borneo. Today it has become a symbol of the fight against wildlife trafficking, and World Pangolin Day, held on the third Saturday of February, raises awareness of all eight species. The best way to help is never to buy pangolin products and to report wildlife crime to the authorities.