I’ve had the giant anteater on my list of potential animal posts for a while. It was actually the whole anteater family, which is why it was going to take longer to put together. Then, I started learning about how the giant anteater isn’t as gentle as I believed. In fact, it can be downright aggressive. So, I’m going to focus on it with the usual conservation status and list of facts.
First, what is a giant anteater? These are big, hairy creatures found in Central and South America. From the name, you can tell that they eat ants as well as termites. They usually have a black and gray fur pattern with a really big tail. A giant anteater’s long snout helps with getting it’s long tongue to its underground meals. Rounding out the physical descriptions, we have really big and sharp claws.
The giant anteater is listed as vulnerable to extinct throughout its territory. This means it has been wiped out of some areas, but it lives and struggles in others. The main cause is the destruction and segmentation of its habitat. Much of the grasslands they live in have been turned into pastures for cash crops. The remaining areas are divided by roads and giant anteaters aren’t very good at looking both ways before they cross. Roads also split up populations and can lead to shallow gene pools. I find this interesting because it’s the first time I heard about this issue, but it’s probably fairly common.
So, what are some giant anteater facts?
- They can be from 6-7 feet long with males being slightly heavier than females.
- While their territories do overlap, they are solitary outside of breeding and mothers caring for their children.
- They live in grasslands and rainforests.
- Giant anteaters have their iconic snouts and sticky tongues, which are long and narrow to get into ant and termite homes.
- Their tongues are 2 feet long and is only 0.4-0.6 inches at its thickest point
- Their claws are big and sharp to help them dig into their prey’s home. This works very well for termite mounds, which are very strong.
- They can eat 30,000 insects per day.
- Giant Anteaters do not have teeth.
- They have poor eyesight, but their sense of smell is 40x that of humans.
- They get water by licking wet vegetation with their tongue.
- If they are threatened, they will bellow and stand on their hind legs to swipe at their enemy with their claws.
- Giant anteaters are typically diurnal, but will become nocturnal if there is a large human presence.
- Their bushy tail helps to confuse predators because it makes them unsure of which end is the front. Choose the wrong one and you can get a claw to your belly.
- Baby anteaters ride on their mother’s backs for around 6 months.
- They have one of the lowest body temperatures of any mammal at 91 Fahrenheit (32.7 Celsius).
- Giant anteaters can kill pumas, jaguars, and humans if threatened.
Now for the pictures and videos, which people always enjoy.
Legends of Windemere 