Just like humans and elephants, female pangolins have pectoral mammary glands and give birth to live young. Females give birth to around one pup a year (unless, on rare occasions, she has twins). There are no records of full gestation periods, but various authors have speculated between 3 and 10 months. Temminck’s ground pangolin does have an estimated gestation period of 5 months, and it is also believed that this ground pangolin species only breed every second year.
When born, pangolin pups’ scales are fully formed but soft and pale and begin to harden over the first few days. Mothers nurture their young in nesting burrows if terrestrial or in a hollow tree or log if they are arboreal. She will leave the baby in the burrow while going out to eat but returns periodically to nurse the pup. When sleeping, the mother will protectively roll around her baby (this will happen if she feels threatened).
When the pup is still an infant, it will ride on the base of the mother’s tail, hooking its claws under the mother’s scales. Pups become independent at 3–4 months, and as they become more adventurous, will alternate riding on the mother’s back with foraging nearby.