How It Works - UK (2020-02)

ENVIRONMENT

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Dressing in a coat of armour doesn’t just

protect an animal against the physical attacks of

predators, but also helps prevent invasions from

parasites. By covering the soft, blood-filled parts

of their body, animals such as pangolins and

armadillos limit their exposure to blood-sucking

parasites and pests. In turn, their risk of picking

up aparasite-transmitteddiseaseorinfection

froma biteisreduced.

Beingshieldedbya protectivelayerofthick

skin,a hardshellora seriesofscalescanhelp

preventtheadvancesofa predator.However,

somespeciesusetheirbodyarmourtogoonthe

offensive.Mammalssuchasthehedgehogand

the egg-lay ingechidnaarearmedw ith

thousandsofspinestowardawayanyunwanted

v isitors.Butthekingofpricklyprotectionisthe

porcupine,nativetoA frica.A rmedw ithsharp

quillsspanningbet ween2.5to30.5centimetres

long,porcupinesarenoteasyprey.They’re

t y picallyseendashingthroughwoodlandsand

rock youtcrops,andwhilemov ingtheirquills

are flattenedtoforma spik ytail.Whenfacingoff

w itha predator,porcupinesw illraisetheir

quillstoshowtheymeanbusiness.

Thesequillsessentiallygrowinthesameway

ourhairgrows,ina c yclethatresultsintough,

hollowspines.Quillsareoftenfoundburiedin

thechinsofanimalsthathavehadanencounter

w itha porcupine,leadingtothecommon

misconceptionthatporcupinescanfiretheir

quillatw illtoimpalepredators.Thisisnotthe

case:porcupinesmerelyreleasequillsfromtheir

bodiesoncetheyhavepuncturedtheskinof

anotheranimal.Atthetipofeachquill,rowsof

hookedbarbscoatthesurface,makingthem

easytoentertheskinbuthardtopullbackout.

1

The three-banded armadillo is equipped

w ith three protective sections in its

carapace: the front, middle and rear.

3

The triangular shape of the armadillo’s

head and tail scales fit flush w ith the

surrounding shield to form the final

armoured ball.

2

When threatened the armadillo begins

to retract its limbs and arch its back to

form a ball.

How does a three-

banded armadillo

roll up?

Pangolins curl up in a foetal position, making it almost

impossible for predators to break through

© Alamy

What lies beneath the scales of

this armoured mammal?

What pangolin

armour protects

Tongue

Unlikeothermammals,the

tongueofa pangolindoesnot

finishin themouth,but

insteadextendsdeepintothe

bodybeneaththeribcage.

Head

Keeninsectivores,

pangolinsdonothave

anyteeth,instead

possessinga gizzard-like

stomachtogrindup

food,muchlikea bird.

Newscales

Pangolinsarebornwith

softscalesthatharden

aftertwodays.