MyKrugerHoliday
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters · CC BY 2.0 · source ↗
Ground Pangolin
Ietermagô · Smutsia temminckii
The holy grail of any Kruger safari, the ground pangolin is a gentle, scaly insect-eater covered in overlapping armour plates made of keratin, like our fingernails. When frightened it rolls into a tight, almost unbreakable ball. It walks on its hind legs with its tail as a counterbalance and uses a long sticky tongue to slurp up ants and termites at night.
Log your Ground Pangolin sighting — free →How to identify it
Unmistakable: the only mammal fully covered in large overlapping scales, rolling into a ball when scared.
Look for its tracks
Walks on its hind legs, front claws curled in; leaves odd pigeon-toed prints and a tail-drag — a rare find.
Where to see it in Kruger
Extremely rare and nocturnal; ranges widely in sandy woodland and grassland, an almost legendary night-drive sighting.
Did you know
It is the only mammal in the world wrapped entirely in scales, and rolls into a ball too tough for lions to open.
See it? Log it — free.
MyKrugerHoliday is a free, offline field guide and one-tap sighting log for a Kruger self-drive. No ads, no account, works with no signal.