Indian pangolin

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 1, 2012629 views11 comments

Today, I'm posting a very rarely seen mammal - the Indian pangolin, also called thick-tailed pangolin or scaly anteater. Even though it has scales, it is a mammal, and can curl up into a tight and very firm ball that manages to save it from tigers and lions! The colour of its scales varies depending on the colour of the earth in its surroundings.
It is an insectivore that feeds on ants and termites, digging them out of mounds and logs using its long claws. Notice the way it walks. It walks on the back of its feet. The soles are as soft as a baby's!
Sadly, it is hunted for its meat, which is considered tasty, and for making medicinal oil.

Species: Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)
Date: Oct 2012
Equip: Canon 5D Mlll, Canon 70-200 f2.8 lens at 148mm,
Specs: ISO 250, f4, 1/500s, hand-held, kneeling down.

Thank you for taking the time out to look, and for your comments/critiques.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on November 1, 2012 at 1:04 AM

Fine Image Ajit! Like it alot. Very interesting animal, sorry to learn it is hunted. I would think such a unique animal would have some protection. Your photo shows it well, you can see the odd way of walking, reminds me of the giant anteater of South America, without scales! Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on November 1, 2012 at 1:22 AM

Ajit, congratulations. I know how difficult the larger African variety are to see, much less photograph. I've never even seen a photo of an Indian pangolin. What a special find.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on November 1, 2012 at 2:36 AM

What a great animal. Now why would you want to eat this fellow? I like the angle that you caught him at.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Saurabh Singh on November 1, 2012 at 8:43 AM

Dear Ajit sir ,

Wow ! It’s a first timer for me .

Very Impressive shot of this rare Anteater . Loved the angle , eye contact and how you have manage to capture It’s behavior of walking on the back of its feet.

Kindly share where did you spot this ?

It's extremely sad to hear about poaching of such unique armoured mammal.

Thanks for sharing the vital information of this rarity.

Regards
Saurabh Singh

Registered on September 6, 2012, 3 Posts, 22 Comments

Comment posted by Marsel van Oosten on November 1, 2012 at 10:09 AM

Ajit - was this shot in the wild or in captivity? The reason I ask is these animals are extremely hard to find, and your low angle and the fact that it was shot in daylight suggest that it was not taken in the wild. Not that it matters for the picture itself, I'm just interested in the background info.

I was fortunate to see a pangolin last month in Zambia during a night drive, searching for leopards. Our guide was so excited that he didn't really want to leave the sighting. The guides are in the bush all them time, and most of them have never seen a pangolin in the wild. When we saw it, it immediately turned into an armored ball. They look like a big artichoke then. And when they're walking and have the color of your pangolin, they look like a pine cone with legs.

Registered on March 9, 2004, 285 Posts, 2277 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on November 1, 2012 at 4:13 PM

Very interesting looking creature and I like how your image shows it walking on the back of it's feet, very unusual. Too bad it is in such demand for food. Thanks for this interesting post and image.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on November 1, 2012 at 11:55 PM

Marsel, this is a wild pangolin. It was found in someone's farm and was captured. Afraid that it would end up in a kitchen, a friend of mine rescued it and released it into a forest near Bangalore, where I live. It was during the release that I was able to kneel down and shoot off a few images. I did pick it up to get a rough guide to see how much it weighed. Contrary to what is mentioned in Wikipedia, it neither hissed nor did it release a foul-smelling gas! It curled up when I held it, and the scales squeezed down on my fingers till they hurt!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 2, 2012 at 7:13 PM

Hey Ajit,

Cool! Love that stride and what an interesting looking critter! For me the uniqueness and rarity of seeing or photographing one of these pretty much places it in its own category - and beyond much of the normal critiquing considerations. I like the shallow DoF here and how it functions to draws one attention to the pangolin's head.

Thanks for sharing this super-unique shot!

Brad

BTW: Not a nit - but noticed that the colour is much more vibrant on the larger version (at least on my monitor).

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on November 2, 2012 at 8:10 PM

Brad, thanks for your generous comments. But, you're right. The larger version is certainly more vibrant than the smaller photo! Why? All I did was to make the larger photo first, then decrease it to 720 pixels on the longer side, and post them both!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on November 5, 2012 at 3:47 PM

I didn't even know this species existed. Cracking low angle shot in motion, Ajit!!
I assume this was a wild one - where did you get this opportunity?

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on November 6, 2012 at 2:30 AM

Hey, Morkel, I've answered your questions already! This was indeed a wild pangolin that was rescued from a farm house where it had been captured.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments