No matter how cute a pangolin is, you can't just take it home

The adorable "curling up" pose it strikes whenever it senses danger is the pangolin's most heart-melting signature move. However, according to statistics from the Nantou County Agriculture Department, in the past 6 months it has received 3 reports from members of the public who picked up pangolins, and these animals have now been sent to the Endemic Species Research Institute in Jiji for treatment. Since the pangolin is a "precious and rare animal" under the Wildlife Conservation Act, if members of the public pick up a pangolin they should report it to the local government for handling, and must not keep or sell it without authorization.

A pangolin in the wild. (Photo provided by Liu Pei-shan of the Endemic Species Research Institute Wildlife Rescue Station)

Pangolin fact file
English name: Chinese Pangolin
Scientific name: Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla (one of the Chinese pangolin subspecies, the Taiwan pangolin)
Common name: Lingli
Classification: Pholidota, Manidae
Conservation status: precious and rare protected species
Diet: insectivorous, mainly termites and ants. Taipei Zoo feeds them bread worms, bee pupae, apple, egg yolk, silkworm pupa powder, yeast powder, coconut powder, Baoyier, and ant nests.
Distribution: Nepal, Sikkim, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, southern mainland China, Taiwan, Hainan Island.
Appearance: The head is conical, with a pointed snout, small eyes, and thick eyelids. Except for the snout, cheeks, lower jaw, throat, belly and the inner sides of the four limbs, the whole body is covered with grayish-brown scales. The limbs are short, with five claws, and the forelimbs are well developed. There are no teeth in the mouth.