Pangolins are one of the most bizarre mammals out there. They are covered in armored scales made of keratin, just like our hair and nails. They use their long tongues to eat ants, and they look like anteaters, but genetically they are super different – they are in a separate Order.
When I lived in Vietnam, I heard a lot about efforts to end Pangolin poaching. Unfortunately, they are one of the most trafficked animals in the world.
So I wrote this poem about pangolins, which are called Tê Tê in Vietnamese.
The Pangolin
The pangolin is dangling
by his claws upon a tree.
He licks up ants and sniffs
for more because he cannot see.
To hide from threats he curls up,
and like a rock prevails.
The predators are at a loss
– no other mammal has scales.
But if you try to buy him,
we must have a tete-a-tete:
The Tê Tê’s home is jungle;
he is neither food nor pet.