Giant Anteater

## Description

The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla ) is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus Myrmecophaga, it is classified with sloths in the order Pilosa. This species is mostly terrestrial, in contrast to other living anteaters and sloths, which are arboreal or semiarboreal. The giant anteater is 182 to 217 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in to 7 ft 1+1⁄2 in) in length, with weights of 33 to 50 kg (73 to 110 lb) for males and 27 to 47 kg (60 to 104 lb) for females. It is recognizable by its elongated snout, bushy tail, long fore claws, and distinctively colored pelage.

The giant anteater is found in multiple habitats, including grassland and rainforest. It forages in open areas and rests in more forested habitats. It feeds primarily on ants and termites, using its fore claws to dig them up and its long, sticky tongue to collect them. Though giant anteaters live in overlapping home ranges, they are mostly solitary except during mother-offspring relationships, aggressive interactions between males, and when mating. Mother anteaters carry their offspring on their backs until weaning them.

The giant anteater is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It has been extirpated from many parts of its former range. Threats to its survival include habitat destruction, fire, and poaching for fur and bushmeat, although some anteaters inhabit protected areas. With its distinctive appearance and habits, the anteater has been featured in pre-Columbian myths and folktales, as well as modern popular culture.

## Appearance

The largest of the anteater species, this animal has quite small eyes and an extremely long, sticky tongue. The fur of the Giant anteater is long, shaggy on its underparts, and coarse on its upperparts. This anteater has long, bushy tail and short, strong legs. The head of the Giant anteater is narrow and long, having a small, black snout on the end. The animal has 5 digits on each foot with large, sharp claws on the 3 middle digits of the front paws. The fur of the anteater is usually greyish or brown. In addition, the animal has black and white diagonal markings, covering its shoulders.

## Distribution

The area of their distribution covers Central and South America, stretching from Belize and Guatemala to northern parts of Argentina. Giant anteaters are found in a wide variety of habitats such as tropical dry forests, rainforests, savanna, open grasslands, shrublands, and flooded grassy plains. They can also be found in upland forests and plantations.

## Behavior

Normally, Giant anteaters are diurnal animals. However, they can become nocturnal during specific weather conditions or nearby human settlements. They usually sleep in abandoned burrows, hollows in the ground, or areas with dense vegetation. Giant anteaters are solitary animals, except with mothers and they're young. They are wandering animals, frequently moving from one spot to another. When they encounter each other in the wild, they can ignore each other, run away or even display agonistic behavior. They use their forelimbs to fight, standing in a bipedal position and using the tail to keep balance. In spite of being a terrestrial animal, the Giant anteater is an excellent swimmer. Also, though they don't tend to climb in the wild, they occasionally try to climb out of enclosures in captivity. In order to communicate with each other, Giant anteaters use various vocalizations. Thus, when alarmed, they give out ‘bellowing’ call. On the other hand, the infants usually make ‘grunting’ sound, when falling off their mother's back.

## Diet

These animals are specialist carnivorous (myrmecophagous, insectivorous) predators, feeding mostly on termites and ants. However, they can also consume soft-bodied grubs, eggs as well as fruit.

## Reproduction

Giant anteaters have a polygynous mating system, where one male mates with more than one female. Breeding depends on the region; they can breed either throughout the year or seasonally. Usually, the male and the female mate several times, remaining together for up to 3 days. The gestation period lasts 6 months, yielding a single baby. The pup is born with its full fur and markings, being fed from the mammary glands of its mother for about 6 months. Then, for about a year, the infant moves, riding on its mother's back, in spite of being able to gallop slowly. The youngster will stay with its mother for up to 2 years. Finally, at the time when the female becomes pregnant again, the pup leaves to begin its own life. Reproductive maturity is reached at 2-4 years old.

## Population

### Threats

Threats to these animals' populations are many. Thus, in some areas of their range, Giant anteaters are hunted for food, persecuted as pests as well as captured as pets or for illegal trade. In some regions, especially in Central America, the Giant anteater is threatened with loss of habitat. On the other hand, living in grasslands, this animal is threatened by fires. In Brazil, for example, the burning of sugar cane plantations before their harvest causes serious burn injuries among Giant anteaters, leading to huge numbers of death. In addition, the Giant anteater is frequently killed by dogs or on roads.

### Number

The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Giant anteater total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.

### Ecological niche

These animals are very important for the ecosystem of their habitat. Being specialist predators of certain insect species, they hugely influence local insect communities.

## Fun Facts

The Giant anteater is one of the two mammal species, not having any teeth, even in adult individuals.

The Giant anteater is called “tridactyla", which means "3 fingers": the animal has 5 digits on each foot, 3 of which have prominent, extra-long claws.

Compared to other mammals with similar body size, this anteater possesses the longest tongue, protruding out of its mouth for more than 60 cms (2 ft).

The tail of the Giant anteater greatly helps the animal. It acts like a bicycle kickstand, allowing the anteater to keep balance while standing on two legs.

Their sense of smell is 40 times stronger than that of humans'.

Being a specialist predator of termites and ants, this animal, however, is not immune to their bites. For this reason, the anteater does not stay long at a colony of ants or termites, feeding for a minute and then moving on.

The body temperature of this anteater is one of the lowest among mammals - 91 degrees Fahrenheit (32.7 degrees Celsius). This is due to their low-calorie insect diet.

The Giant anteater may travel an average of 3,700 m (12,100 ft) per day.

The Giant anteater is capable of eating a huge amount of ants: up to 30,000-35,000 ants per day.