While most guests are usually keen on seeing the best known African animals when on safari, the vast majority of rangers, trackers and guides are always on the lookout for something that is so rare, or skittish that one can spend years trying to find it, and yet it remains elusive. Wild dogs is one of those animals, but then there is the ever-elusive “Pangolin”. This animal looks bizarre, it is often mentioned (“Have you ever seen one?”) and yet it is little known outside these circles. It is certainly not famous, but seeing one, up-close, is considered a real treat for any ranger.

Yesterday was Jonathan’s turn: he spotted one, all of a sudden, while out with guests on our reserve! This would be the first sighting in his entire career, so the excitement was more than palpable, as one can imagine.

Mike rushed towards it, and took some very cool photos. This turned out to be a “proper” sighting, and the guests as well as the delighted Jonathan spent quite some time observing this truly bizarre animal. As always, when they are feeling threatened, they roll themselves up and bury their head in this odd-looking ball that they turn themselves into.

The name Pangolin comes from the Malay word “pangguling”, meaning “something that rolls up”. It is the only mammal with keratine scales protecting its skin in the world. It feeds off ants mainly, and so it doesn’t have  any teeth (it clearly doesn’t need them). They are now endangered, as deforestation as well as hunting for re-sale in China (yep, usual suspect) as Chinese culture believes in medical curative powers their meat is supposed to have. That is not true of course. The Pangolins on our reserve are safe though, and it is great to see that they are around here and doing well. This is the third sighting in 4 years, which is a LOT considering how skittish and nocturnal they are.

Here the photos taken: