English Notes Chapter 4.2 “Baby Pangolin’s Night Out” Class 7 Maharashtra Board

Notes For All Chapters – English Class 7

Introduction

The story focuses on a pangolin mother and her baby. It highlights their lifestyle, food habits, and the dangers they face due to human activities. The story also emphasizes the efforts of good people and organizations to protect pangolins.

Key Characters

• Mama Pangolin: A protective and caring mother who teaches her baby about survival and the dangers posed by humans.
• Baby Pangolin: A curious one-month-old learning about life outside the burrow.

Summary of Events

1. Mama Pangolin’s Wake-Up Call:

• Mama wakes Baby up to take him for ant-eating.
• Baby is initially reluctant, but Mama carries him on her tail.

2. Journey Outside:

• Mama teaches Baby about pangolins and their cousins in Africa and Asia.
• They see a porcupine on the way and observe their surroundings carefully.

3. Eating Termites:

• They reach an anthill where Mama uses her claws to dig it up and eats termites using her long, sticky tongue.
• Baby tries and successfully eats termites for the first time.

4. Danger from Humans:

• Mama senses humans nearby, pulls Baby close, and curls into a tight ball to hide.
• She warns Baby about the dangers humans pose, including hunting and habitat destruction.

5. Hope for Protection:

• Mama explains the efforts of organizations like Sahyadri Nisarg Mitra to protect pangolins and create awareness among people.

6. Return Home:

• After a successful outing, they head home before sunrise.

Important Learnings

About Pangolins:

• Habitat: Live in snug holes in the earth.
• Food: Termites and ants.
• Defense: Curl into a ball to protect themselves.

Threats:

• Humans hunt pangolins for their scales and destroy their habitats.
• Pangolin scales are wrongly believed to have medicinal properties.

Conservation Efforts:

• Organizations and the Forest Department create awareness about protecting pangolins.
• Modern techniques like trap cameras are used to study pangolins.

Interesting Facts from the Pangolin Fact Sheet

1. Indian pangolins are protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
2. They are on the IUCN Red List of endangered species.
3. Their scales are made of keratin, similar to human nails.
4. A single pangolin can eat up to 7 crore ants or termites in a year.
5. Even tigers and lions struggle to attack a pangolin curled into a ball.

Moral of the Story

The story teaches the importance of wildlife conservation and respecting nature. It encourages awareness and action to protect endangered species like pangolins from human greed and ignorance.