【Watch In the Morning of La Petite Mort Online】

Hop over to Google.com,Watch In the Morning of La Petite Mort Online and you'll see a pair of enamored pangolins prepping for Valentine's Day this week. Press play, and you can help the cute scaly mammals fall in love.

Perhaps you'll feel whimsical, or even a little happy.

Consider this your dose of cold, hard reality: The pangolin -- a nocturnal, cat-sized anteater -- is rolling toward extinction.

SEE ALSO: Giant rats could help fight wildlife smuggling in Africa

Put another way, pangolins are "literally being eaten out of existence," according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Native to Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the termite-eating pangolins are thought to be the most trafficked animals in the world. Their meat is considered a luxury food in many cultures, and their scales are a common ingredient in traditional Asian medicines.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

All eight pangolin species are now threatened with extinction, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Two species in particular are listed as critically endangered.

Google launched its first pangolin game on Feb. 11 and will add new levels through Valentine's Day on Feb. 14.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In the Google game, a red pangolin rolls across the landscape to find its blue partner.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

In real life, pangolins do roll up into balls, but they do so in order to protect themselves from predators; their scaly exteriors fight off gnashing fangs.

Pretty cool, right? Well...

Via Giphy

This ball-rolling move also makes it easier for poachers to snatch pangolins in the wild.

Wildlife experts estimate that more than 1 million pangolins have been illegally traded in the past decade, despite national and international efforts to crack down on poaching.

But don't despair. Conservationists say there is still time to save the pangolin.

A non-profit in Tanzania is turning rats into sniffing sleuths that can detect trafficked animal parts -- including pangolin meat and scales -- in shipments from Africa to Asia.

Via Giphy

In October, a treaty involving 180 countries and conservation groups signed an agreement to end all legal trade of pangolins and afford the eight species the top level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Google itself is involved in the effort to spare pangolins from extinction. The tech giant's philanthropic arm, Google.org, recently gave a grant to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which is using thermal imagery and other advanced technology to track poachers within pangolin habitats.

WWF said Google approached the organization two weeks ago about its plans to feature pangolins for Valentine's Day. The Doodle game directs players to WWF's pangolin "adoption" kits, which aid conservation efforts.

"It's a critical time to raise awareness for the pangolin. The outlook for them is bleak," Diane Quigley, WWF's senior director of digital platforms, said in an email. "We welcome Google's help in raising the visibility of this endangered creatures' plight."

---

Featured Video For You

---

The world’s tallest mammal is now threatened with extinction

---

• Tech
• Life
• Social Good
• Science
• Digital Culture
• Entertainment
• Games
• Deals

• Best Amazon deal: Get a $5 Amazon credit when you spend $30 on home essentials
• The case for never seeing Baby Yoda on 'The Mandalorian' again
• Kristen Bell performed songs from 'Frozen' for evacuees at a Hurricane Irma shelter
• 14 best tweets of the week, including Tom Cruise, gabagool, and a darts man with his eggplant
• Astronomers saw one galaxy impale another. The damage was an eye
• Amazon's new Fire TV streaming interface is a slick improvement
• The 16 very specific things we most loved this year
• New Google Doodle celebrates the Great Conjunction
• FreeSync 2 Explained
• How to clear your cache on Mac

• Fake Australian Government Twitter is having an #ElectionNight field day
• 'Avengers: Endgame' directors 'shocked' at reaction to 'Infinity War'
• This 1979 Stephen King novel is a chilling prediction of Donald Trump's rise
• KFC's 'Virtual Influencer Colonel' is pretty damn hot
• Trump supporters celebrate their victory on Twitter
• You don't have to organize today. You can just grieve.
• Donald Trump has just updated his Twitter bio
• This woman lived in her car to volunteer at 200 food banks and prove a point about hunger
• Darth Vader becomes your boss in terrifying 'Vader Immortal'
• Your 'smart AI' often involves a low

• Today's Hurdle hints and answers for April 17, 2025
• The Hurricane Harvey telethon needs a Kanye West moment
• Twitter's election label now acknowledges Joe Biden as president
• Hurricane Harvey telethon raises over $44 million
• Waymo data shows humans are terrible drivers compared to AI
• How Bad Is Your Spotify is a bot that brutally drags your music taste
• Jim Carrey won't return as Joe Biden on 'Saturday Night Live'
• How to clear your cache on Mac
• Best keyboard deals: Save on Asus gaming keyboards at Amazon
• How to screen record on Mac

• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K deal: Get 40% off
• Corgi with 'Receiving Gifts' love language attempts to give its reflection a bone
• The Hurricane Harvey telethon needs a Kanye West moment
• The deep sea discoveries of 2020 are stunning
• Norrie vs. Diallo 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
• Policeman stops traffic to rescue a tiny kitten trying to cross the road
• Chestnuts roasting on a dumpster fire: 16 extremely 2020 Yule Log videos
• China makes plans to ban gasoline cars
• Nintendo Switch 2 preorder just days away, per leak
• Ted Cruz Twitter porn gaffe inspires inevitable Photoshop battle