Felt pangolin

February 16, 2016December 17, 2016 ~ Rachel L Shaw ~ 3 Comments

Who can resist a cute soft toy pangolin?! Now you can make your own 🙂

Pangolins are the only mammals with scales. Their scales are made of keratin just like our nails and account for about 20% of the animals weight. Sadly, they are also one of the reasons why so many pangolins are killed. The scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine. All eight species of pangolin are now threatened with extinction because of illegal trade.

Due to their varying sizes, different species of pangolin are likely to have different numbers of scales. Apparently sunda pangolins (from which Philippine pangolins were only recently separated) have approximately 900 scales.

Making my felt pangolin, I lost count at 120 scales. I just kept making more as I needed them but I’m glad I didn’t have to cut out 900!

Click on the picture below to open a printable pdf:

NB. Unless you sew the scales on incredibly well, it’s not suitable for small children. No-one should be eating pangolin scales even it the are made with felt!

front cover — Pipisin the Pangolin picture book

Peeping pangolin

February 15, 2016October 28, 2016 ~ Rachel L Shaw ~ Leave a comment

One of the many special things about pangolins is there ability to roll up into a tight ball that even lions and tigers can’t get into. Unfortunately this defence makes it easy for humans to catch and smuggle them. Pangolins are the most trafficked animal in the world – illegally traded for their meat and scales.

I saw a cute paper pangolin like this online but couldn’t find a template to make it; this is my version.

Click on the picture below to open a printable pdf:

Paper pangolin

February 13, 2016October 28, 2016 ~ Rachel L Shaw ~ 2 Comments

There seems to be a real shortage of pangolin related crafts available online. So a few weeks ago (or maybe it was longer) I decided to make my own… My desk has been covered with pangolin-shaped bits of card, felt scales and prototype pangolins.

In the run-up to World Pangolin Day on 20 February 2016, I’ll post the results. Hope you have fun making your own pangolins! Please do share pictures of what you make via twitter or facebook.

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