First look at Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s new white-bellied pangolin pup, born July 25. Pangolins have a distinctive cone-shaped head, a long prehensile (grasping) tail that makes up half its length, and a body covered with sharp, artichoke-shaped scales made of keratin, the same material as human fingernails. (Jim Schulz / Brookfield Zoo Chicago)

With their bodies covered in sharp, artichoke-shaped scales, pangolins seem built to deter predators. Instead, these curious-looking mammals are being threatened with extinction due to uncontrolled poaching.

To help sustain the population, Brookfield Zoo Chicago has played a leading role in conservation efforts, as one of the few zoos in the U.S. to have successfully bred and birthed pangolins, including its newest “pangopup,” which arrived July 25.

The pup and its mother are among the 13 white-bellied pangolins housed at the zoo. Almost all of them are kept behind the scenes; only a lone adult is on exhibit in the zoo’s African habitat.

Pangolins don’t have teeth, but rather swallow their prey — mainly ants and termites — whole. An adult pangolin can eat up to 20,000 ants and termites a day. To protect itself from a predator, a pangolin will curl up into a tight ball and use its scaled body like a coat of armor. Pictured here is Brookfield Zoo’s newest pangolin born in captivity on July 25. (Jim Schulz / Brookfield Zoo)

Pangolins are one of the most trafficked mammals in the world — some 200,000 are poached annually — killed for bushmeat and also for their scales, which are used in Asian medicines and also leather products.

“Having pangolins in professional care provides a great opportunity for scientists and zoo specialists to learn as much as we can about the species’ natural history, which allows us to share this vital information and collaborate with in situ partners to ensure conservation success for pangolins in the wild,” Mark Wanner, Brookfield’s associate vice president of animal care and conservation, said in a statement. “It also gives us the opportunity to raise awareness about the plight all pangolins world-wide are facing due to illegal and unsustainable harvesting for food and scales.”

Since the North American Pangolin Consortium, of which Brookfield is a part, was established in 2016, the zoo’s staff has gained insights into the pangolin’s physiology, its reproductive processes and behaviors, nutritional needs and activities.

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]