The Giant Anteater is the largest species of anteater. This large, hairy mammal lives in grasslands, savannas and open tropical forests in Central and South America.
The anteater grows to lengths of 1-2 m and reaches weights in the range of 25-39 kg. Long straw-like brown-black fur covers its body which grows to lengths of up to 40 cm on its bushy tail. It has a black and white stripe that runs along each side of its body.
Anteaters are edentate animals – they have no teeth. But their long tongues (60 cm) are more than sufficient to lap up the 30,000 ants and termites they swallow whole each day.
The anteater uses its sharp claws to tear an opening into an anthill and put its long snout and efficient tongue to work. But it has to eat quickly, flicking its tongue up to 160 times per minute. Ants fight back with painful stings, so an anteater may spend only a minute feasting on each mound. Anteaters never destroy a nest, preferring to return and feed again in the future.
The anteater’s front limbs are strong and provide some defence against its natural predators, the puma and the jaguar. Long, sturdy claws adorn its front limbs. When walking, the giant anteater protects these front claws by walking on its knuckles.
Little is known about the courtship and mating habits of giant anteaters. It is believed that males and females come together only to mate. The mother carries the young inside her for 190 days. The mother gives birth while standing and will use her long tail like a third leg for support.
At birth, the baby immediately scrambles onto its mother’s back. It has a complete coat of fur that is so similar in colour to its mother’s that the youngster is often difficult to recognize when it is with its mother. The mother suckles her young for about six months. During this time, the baby will cling to its mother’s back, although it is able to walk a month after birth. The offspring is slow to mature; it does not become independent until the mother is pregnant again and will not feed on its own until it is two years old.
The giant anteater and the other three species of anteater live only in Central and South America. The giant anteater is the most vulnerable species of anteater and is likely to become in danger of extinction in the next few years, unless measures are taken now.