About Professor Pangolin

Professor Pierre Odada Pangolin is a Giant Pangolin (M. gigantea), the largest and rarest species of pangolin. His family – faced with a rapidly declining natural habitat in their native home of Kenya – moved to Montreal when the Professor was only a year old.

A graduate of the illustrious Manidae University, the Professor has a quintuple degree in Biology, Physics, Astronomy, Engineering and Interpretive Dance. Today, he spends most of his time sleeping, eating ants and writing the Brain Bumpers column for YES Mag.

About Pangolins

Pangolins, also known as "scaly anteaters", are insect-eating mammals. Powerful digging claws and long, sticky tongues help the pangolin to slurp bugs out of anthills and termite mounds.

Pangolins are tough animals! They're covered in hard, razor-sharp scales that act like armour plating. When threatened, the pangolin can curl into a defensive ball, and sometimes even roll downhill to safety. They can also defend themselves by spraying a noxious-smelling acid from their... um... behinds. Professor Pangolin is far too dignified to demonstrate this behaviour for us.

Most species of pangolin can be found in great abundance in parts of Asia and Africa. However, the Giant Pangolin is endangered – their numbers have greatly decreased as a result of farming, deforestation, and hunting.