STORY OF THE PANGOLIN. 
In Africa, south of the Sahara desert and in some parts of India, I have 
often come across an animal which always made me think of a huge pine cone 
supplied with a head and legs. This animal is known as the pangolin, which 
feeds upon ants, although belonging to a different family from the true ant- 
eaters. The whole upper surface of the body, the sides and the tail are covered 
with large overlapping horny scales. The limbs are short, with five toes. Its 
long worm-like tongue is capable of being extended a great distance from its 
mouth. 
The largest pangolins reach a length of six feet. They are burrowing 
animals, and are only abroad at night. They can roll themselves in a ball like 
the other ant-eaters, and when they are thus rolled up their muscular strength 
is something enormous. 
Asia is inhabited by three species of the family, namely, the Indian pango¬ 
lin, confined to India and Ceylon; the Chinese pangolin, ranging from, Nipal 
and Assam to 1 China; and the Malayan pangolin, inhabiting the regions to the 
westward of the Bay of Bengal as far as Celebes, and also occurring in North- 
Eastern India. 
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