Abstract
How the Indian pangolin combines attack with defence is told by Mr. W. G. Adam in the Field for June 11, p. 882, in an article on the species as studied by him in Ceylon, of which island it is a native. When rolled up in the defensive position with its tail turned forward, it keeps up a slapping and grinding movement with that member, and if this results in any part of the assailants body being caught between its own body and tail, begins a sawing movement of the latter which, the scales of the body and tail being opposed in the rolled-up position, inflicts a severe wound. Whether this act be due to instinct or intelligence, the pangolin seems to be an animal of fairly high mentality and advanced instincts. Both male and female care for the young ones, and Mr. Adam has seen the pair jointly hunting for a strayed one by scent and carefully convoying it home when found. Moreover, a young pair stayed about his premises in a semi-domesticated condition for more than a year, recognising strangers with squeaks, but answering to names with those they knew, while the female would even let puppies play with and pull her about.
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Habits of the Pangolin. Nature 130, 55 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130055d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130055d0