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它是保护森林的卫士，它比大熊猫还濒危，它的铠甲也是它的软肋。中国正式将穿山甲升级为国家一级保护野生动物。这对于拯救濒临灭绝的穿山甲无疑是一大利好消息。
They live in Africa and Asia. They have scales (鳞片) on their skin. They can roll up into a ball to protect themselves. Pangolins are important animals because they protect trees by eating ants. However, they are now in danger.
Pangolins used to be on China’s second-level list of protected animals. They were recently added to the country’s top-level list because they are becoming rare (罕见的). The world’s pangolin population has dropped (减少) by 90 percent in the past 20 years, according to a UN survey.
Overhunting (过度捕猎) has resulted in the disappearance of pangolins. Many people eat pangolin meat. Some people believe that their scales can treat (治疗) illnesses. Pangolins take a long time to have babies. It takes five to seven months for a mother pangolin to give birth. A female pangolin can give birth only once each year, and just one baby each time.
In addition, we have not yet found a way to raise pangolins in captivity (圈养) like we do with pandas. This makes it even harder to protect pangolins from extinction (灭绝).
Fun facts about pangolins
Pangolins range in length from 30 cm to 100 cm.
Pangolins have long tongues (舌头) - up to 40 cm long.
Pangolins are good at digging holes. They can dig as deep as 3.5 meters underground.
