Patty Jenkins., age 12, of Washington, Illinois, for her question:

Does the pangolin have teeth?

The pangolin is an anteater and some of the anteaters have teeth, while others do not. The pangolin, alias the scaly anteater, has no teeth at all. This fellow rates as one of the strangest looking animals in the world. He looks like a monster pine cone. The giant of the clan is the great ground pangolin, who measures six feet from nose tip to tail tip. His razor sharp scales are five inches wide and three inches long.

Pangolins come in assorted sizes. The smallest one is about one foot long plus another foot or so of tail. Apart from size they look very much alike. The round chunky body tapers down to his nose and tail. All but the underside is covered with overlapping scales of armor plating. The third‑claw on each front foot turns it inward and he walks on the sides of his feet.

 The pangolin is a  native of warm regions in the Old World. He is found in Africa and Asia, The giant of the family 1ives in tropical Africa.

Many of the smaller types of pangolin spend most of the time in the trees. The underside of his  tail is fitted with spines which make excellent climbing hooks. The  clawed front paws make the pangolin a clumsy walker.

But all but the big and heavy fellows are agile climbers. They can even scale the sheer will  of a rocky cliff.

The strange pangolin roes his hunting at night. He does not see or hear very well but he has an excellent sense of smell. After sunset he sallies forth to smell out termite mounds and ant hills. When the quarry is found, the hunter is no longer clumsy. He rips the hill or mound apart with his powerful claws. His special anteater tongue goes to work. It lashes back and forth, gathering up ant or termite eggs, which seem to be his favorite food.

The pangolin's mouth is small, round, and ' of course toothless. The anteater tongue is, anteater tongue is a long thin whiplash coated with sticky gum. Even the anteaters who have teeth, such as the armadillo, have the same kind of tongue.

The armadillo's armor, however, can be used only to defend himself. The pangolin's armor is used to fight back at his enemies. When threatened, he rolls himself into a ball, protecting his bare underside. The scales all over his back and tail rise up and act as daggers. Meantime his tail slashes around to get a grip on the enemy's paw. When it succeeds, it holds on tight and saws back and forth. The sharp daggers can amputate the logs of an enemy. Though the pangolin never picks a fight, he is dangerous when attacked,

Mrs. Pangolin is a gentle and protective mother. She rarely has more than one baby at a time. He is born with his coat of scalps, but they are soft and bendable. In a few days they harden and Mama is able to take her darling for a walk. Hp rides on the end of her tail, holding on with all his might. When danger threatens, Mama rolls into a ball and baby is safely wrapped inside,