What question did this study set out to answer?

To explore the different interpretations of a pangolin's licking behaviour towards a gas compressor.

March 6, 20260 citationsOpen Access

Why Did the Pangolin Lick the Gas Compressor? Ritual Interpretation and Animal Behaviour on the South Coast of Tanzania

Key Points

To explore the different interpretations of a pangolin's licking behaviour towards a gas compressor.
Document analysis of photographs and accounts of the event from 2012.
Qualitative analysis combining ethnographic and zoological perspectives.
Comparative analysis of human and animal interpretations of the encounter.
The encounter is interpreted variably from human and animal perspectives.
Different explanations suggest cultural rituals or instinctive behaviours.
Behavioral observations highlight the pangolin's curiosity towards unfamiliar objects.

Abstract

Working Papers on Pangolins and People Pangolin Papers No. 1 2026 A photograph taken in Kilwa in 2012 shows a pangolin apparently approaching—and possibly touching—an object identified as a “gas compressor”, one of three related images documenting the encounter. The published account describes the animal as repeatedly licking the canister, though the photo itself shows only close investigation rather than a clearly visible tongue. What might explain this unexpected behaviour? Drawing on both ethnographic interpretation and zoological knowledge of pangolins, this paper revisits the encounter from human and animal perspectives, reconsidering how a single event can sustain very different—yet equally coherent—interpretations. Suggested citation: Walsh, Martin. 2026. Why Did the Pangolin Lick the Gas Compressor? Ritual Interpretation and Animal Behaviour on the South Coast of Tanzania. Pangolin Papers No. 1 (v. 1.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18864296

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