Tree or African White-bellied Pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis)
Status: Vulnerable (A4d)
Distribution: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia.
Certain physical characteristics separate the arboreal Tree Pangolin and Long-tailed Pangolin from Africa’s ground pangolins, including smaller size, very small first forelimb claws, larger eyes, irregular arrangement of scales, the presence of tails pads used for climbing, the length of the tail which is prehensile, and the presence of hair on the lower sections of forelimbs, as opposed to scales. While both of the tree dwelling species have long tails, the Tree Pangolin’s is notably shorter.
One young is born after a gestation period of approximately 150 days.
The Tree Pangolin is the most frequently encountered pangolin in Africa.
Click here to visit the Tree Pangolin’s IUCN Red List page.