Comic Summary
Initially launched in Namibia as ‘Petrus the Temminick’s Pangolin Guardian’ to commemorate World Pangolin Day 2022 and reprinted in 2024 as ‘Vusa Pangolin Guardian’, this comic book debunks the myth of pangolin scales in traditional medicine and teaches children little known facts about the pangolin’s diet and breeding habits. In this story, Vusa and Thandi encounter a pangolin and learn about the animal and its conservation. The narrative is structured as a conversation between the children and their grandfather, who shares traditional knowledge and facts about pangolins, as well as discussing the threats they face. The story takes place on a peaceful, sunny winter afternoon in the village as Vusa and Thandi are checking on cattle.
Overview of Content
The core themes explored in the comic include:
- Pangolin Characteristics and Behavior: Pangolins are shy animals that are usually seen when the sun goes down, but they travel alone. They balance on their back legs using a long tail, which is a sharp weapon. They are mammals, and mothers carry their young on their backs for almost five months while moving to a new burrow and feed them milk. They use powerful front claws to dig and burrow into termite mounds and use a long, sticky tongue, nearly as long as their body, to lick up food. They do not have teeth and walk long distances daily looking for food.
- Diet and Predators: Pangolins mainly feed on ants, termites, their eggs, and larvae, which are also a source of water. A clue that a pangolin has been eating in an area is the presence of tail marks in the sand. When attacked, they curl up into balls for protection and also keep their baby safe in the mother’s underparts. They also give off a terrible smell from their anal glands to chase away predators. Their natural predators include lions, hyenas, and honey badgers.
- Threats and Conservation: In the past, African ancestors offered pangolin meat to the local king or chief and used the scales for a ceremonial hat, but this is no longer practiced in Africa as pangolins are now protected. Pangolins are disappearing in the wild because humans hunt them and take them from their natural habitat in hollowed-out tree stumps and burrows. People in distant lands want the pangolin for its scales, which they mistakenly believe have value for traditional medicine to cure illnesses. The scales are made of keratin, the same material as fingernails, and have no medicinal value. The text stresses the need to protect the pangolin, with a suggestion to report any person seen poaching pangolins in the area to the Parks Board Rangers, as stealing the animals is an offense.
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