North American tamandua (SciiFii)

The North American tamandua (Tamandua arborealis) is a species of anteater that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the rainforests, swamps, forests, open woodlands, and grasslands of North America to help boost biodiversity. The North American tamanduas are semiarboreal and possess partially prehensile tails used for balancing and clinging onto branches while climbing. They are about the size of a southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) and are insectivorous, mainly feed on ants and termites, but they occasionally eat bees, beetles, and insect larvae. In captivity, they will eat fruits and meat. They have no teeth and depend on their powerful gizzards to break down their food. Like their South American relatives, they are nocturnal, active at night and secreting away in hollow tree trunks and burrows abandoned by other animals during daylight hours. They can spend more than half of their time in the treetops, as much as 64%, where they forage for arboreal ants and termites. North American tamanduas, like South American tamanduas, move rather awkwardly on the ground and are incapable of galloping like their larger relatives, the giant anteater. North American tamanduas walk on the sides of their clenched forefeet to avoid injuring their palms with their sharp claws. Their very strong foreclaws can be used to break insect nests or to defend themselves. The conservation status of the North American tamandua is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the North American tamandua's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii