• About

Candia Comes Clean

~ Candid cultural comments from the Isles of Wonder

Tag Archives: pangolin

The Pangolin

03 Thursday May 2018

Posted by Candia in Animals, art, Education, Environment, Humour, Nature, Poetry, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

gizzard, keratin, pangolin, pangopups, Prince William, stenophagy

IMG_0043 (2)

 

Pangolin – nothing to do with penguin,

porcupine, furniture polish, mandolin.

It’s got no fur, feather, wingspan, or fin.

 

So, you’ve never heard of a pangolin?

It’s a mammal, covered in keratin.

Keratin? – a protection for its skin.

 

When it sniffs food, it gives a little sneeze

and it walks just as if it’s got knock knees,

looking like a dinosaur, if you please.

 

You’ve never seen one?  Well, that is because

they scrabble at night with very sharp claws

and their tongues flick termites into their jaws.

 

You’ve never smelled a pangolin, have you?

You wouldn’t want to, ’cause they pong like poo,

but – hey! – they might not like the smell of you!

 

They come from Africa, The Philippines,

Vietnam, Laos, Sri Lanka… it seems

bad men turn them into medicines.

 

Pangolins don’t like to be touched: not much!

They’ll try to avoid a predator’s clutch

and will hide in a hollow tree, or such.

 

IMG_0005 (4)

 

If they are scared, they’ll roll into a ball.

They like their own company – that is all.

Big cats will just paw them and let them fall.

 

Curled up, they can look like an artichoke;

they won’t even move, if given a poke.

Fast asleep, they don’t take it as a joke.

 

Arboreal ones will hang from their tails.

Pangopups ride on the backs of females.

They’re covered in all these cute little scales.

 

IMG_0003 (2)

 

You used to see pangolins in a zoo,

but nowadays there are only a few.

They value their freedom, the same as you!

 

They’re fussy feeders – their stenophagy*

means that they will only eat two, or three

types of termites, so it isn’t easy

 

to please a pangolin.  Yes, some have tried,

with worms and crickets and larvae, deep-fried,

but the pangolins turned up their toes and died.

 

So, if you’re offered one, do not buy it.

They only feed on their special diet.

They are not pets – so, don’t even try it!

 

I don’t want you to taste a pangolin.

You know, it would be a terrible sin

to eat animals who face extinction.

 

A pangolin has no teeth to bite you.

Its long, sticky tongue is coated with glue.

It swallows stones, which you should never do!

 

Apparently, it aids their digestion.

‘Quite how?’ would be a very good question.

Look up ‘the gizzard’ is my suggestion.

 

They’ve been around for 80 million years,

but now conservationists have raised fears

that, if we don’t help them, they’ll disappear.

 

IMG_0001 (2)

 

Join Prince William, His Royal Highness –

try to look on all wildlife with kindness,

whether pangolin, leopard, or lioness.

 

Pangolin, we have caused you much offence.

Your armour was given you for defence;

now we pledge to protect your existence.

 

IMG_0041 (2)

drawings and text copyright- Candia Dixon- Stuart, 2018.

 

 

 

* a narrow range of diet

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Image

Pangopup and Mother

26 Monday Feb 2018

Tags

endangered species, pangolin, pangopup, World Pangolin Day

IMG_0003 (2)

The 17th February was World Pangolin Day.

Have enjoyed drawing these creatures.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Posted by Candia | Filed under Animals, art, Environment, Family, Nature, News

≈ Leave a comment

Just chillin’

25 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by Candia in Animals, art, Environment, Media, Nature, News

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

arboreal pangolin, endangered species, pangolin, trafficked mammals

IMG_0043 (2)

 

Arboreal pangolin- just chillin’

Another illustration for my children’s book?

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Protect the Pangolin

24 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by Candia in Animals, art, Environment, Media, Nature, News, Social Comment

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Boris Johnson, endangered species, pangolin

IMG_0041 (2)

 

As worn on a t-shirt by Boris Johnson- a questionable endorsement?

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

My name is Candia. Its initial consonant alliterates with “cow” and there are connotations with the adjective “candid.” I started writing this blog in the summer of 2012 and focused on satire at the start.

Interspersed was ironic news comment, reviews and poetry.

Over the years I have won some international poetry competitions and have published in reputable small presses, as well as reviewing and reading alongside well- established poets. I wrote under my own name then, but Candia has taken me over as an online persona. Having brought out a serious anthology last year called 'Its Own Place' which features poetry of an epiphanal nature, I was able to take part in an Arts and Spirituality series of lectures in Winchester in 2016.

Lately I have been experimenting with boussekusekeika, sestinas, rhyme royale, villanelles and other forms. I am exploring Japanese themes at the moment, my interest having been re-ignited by the recent re-evaluations of Hokusai.

Thank you to all my committed followers whose loyalty has encouraged me to keep writing. It has been exciting to meet some of you in the flesh- in venues as far flung as Melbourne and Sydney!

Copyright Notice

© Candia Dixon Stuart and Candiacomesclean.wordpress.com, 2012-2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Candia Dixon Stuart and candiacomesclean.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Recent Posts

  • Batsford Arboretum
  • St Luke’s, Sapperton
  • Giant Hogweed
  • Willow Witch
  • Marbled Whites

Archives

  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012

Categories

  • Animals
  • Architecture
  • art
  • Arts
  • Autumn
  • Bible
  • Celebrities
  • Community
  • Crime
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Family
  • Fashion
  • Film
  • gardens
  • History
  • Home
  • Horticulture
  • Hot Wings
  • Humour
  • Industries
  • James Bond films
  • Jane Austen
  • Language
  • Literature
  • Media
  • Music
  • mythology
  • Nature
  • News
  • Nostalgia
  • Olympic Games
  • Parenting
  • Personal
  • Philosophy
  • Photography
  • Poetry
  • Politics
  • Psychology
  • Relationships
  • Religion
  • Romance
  • Satire
  • Sculpture
  • short story
  • short story
  • Social Comment
  • Sociology
  • Sport
  • Spring
  • St Swithun's Day
  • Summer
  • Summer 2012
  • Supernatural
  • Suttonford
  • television
  • Tennis
  • Theatre
  • Travel
  • urban farm
  • White Horse
  • winter
  • Writing

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

acrylic acrylic painting acrylics Alex Salmond Andy Murray Ashmolean Australia Autumn barge Blenheim blossom Border Terrier Boris Johnson Bourbon biscuit boussokusekika Bradford on Avon Brassica British Library Buscot Park charcoal Charente choka clerihew Cotswolds David Cameron dawn epiphany Fairford France FT funghi Genji George Osborne Gloucestershire Golden Hour gold leaf Hampshire herbaceous borders Hokusai husband hydrangeas Jane Austen Kelmscott Kirstie Allsopp Lechlade Murasaki Shikibu mushrooms National Trust NSW Olympics Oxford Oxfordshire Pele Tower Pillow Book Prisma reflections Roger Federer Sculpture Shakespeare sheep Spring Spring flowers still life Suttonford Tale of Genji Thames Thames path Theresa May Victoria watercolour William Morris willows Wiltshire Winchester Cathedral winter

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,575 other followers

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Candia Comes Clean
    • Join 1,575 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Candia Comes Clean
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: