Defense OUCH! Hang on! South American sloths use their long, sharp claws to spend almost 24 hours a day hanging upside down in trees, feeding on nearby leaves and fruit. When they come down to urinate (pee) and defecate (poop), their claws serve as defense from predators. Play ball! Pangolins are endangered mammals that live in deep burrows in Asia and Africa. They feed on termites and ants in their mounds with long, thin tongues. Pangolins are covered in thick, overlapping scales made from keratin. When threatened by predators, pangolins roll into a ball. Lions and hyenas cannot get enough jaw traction to chew through pangolins when they are in ball shapes, but biologists have watched lions trying to eat them for hours at a time. OUCH! Crash...OUCH! The American bison (also called a buffalo) is the largest mammal in North America. Both males and females have thick skulls and short, curved horns. To fight, they crash into other bison or predators head first. Excerpted from Animals That Make Me Say Ouch! by Dawn Cusick, National Wildlife Federation Staff All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
