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

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. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18864295 Version noteVersion 2 (March 2026): minor corrections and DOI added.