One of the most amazing and well-known to all lovers of animal flora is the anteater. This amazing mammal belongs to the order of edentates. Nowadays, anteaters are often raised as exotic pets, and the first owner of such an animal was great artist world famous - Salvador Dali.
Description and characteristics
The anteater family includes two genera, three species and eleven subspecies, which differ in many respects. However, there are also common features characteristic of all species, including very long tongue up to 60 cm long, a characteristic set of legs and a very strong tail, which helps the animal climb trees.
The size of an adult animal may vary. IN natural conditions males are larger than females. All anteaters have long, tube-shaped snouts, and have small, narrow mouth openings. The small size of the ears and eyes is also characteristic. The front five-fingered limbs have long and sharp, hooked claws. The hind legs have four or five toes with not too long claws. The entire body is covered with thick hair, which, depending on the species, can be short and soft or long and rough.
This is interesting! Distinctive feature anteater - a very long tongue, moistened with sticky and abundant saliva.
The hair coloring is quite contrasting. The color of the back varies from a gray tint to a relatively bright, golden-brown color. The abdominal area is most often yellowish or grayish-white. Four-toed anteaters have blackish stripes or a fairly large black spot on the body. The cranial bones are strong and elongated. Anteaters have no teeth, and their thin lower jaw is quite long and not powerful.
Natural habitat
Anteaters are widespread in Mexico, as well as in Central America, in Brazil and Paraguay. As a rule, the environment natural habitat animals serve tropical forest areas, but some species are quite well adapted to open areas, savannas and coastal lines.
Anteater species differ in lifestyle, which is reflected in their physiological characteristics:
- terrestrial giant anteaters
- arboreal pygmy anteaters
- terrestrial arboreal four-toed anteaters
The animal is usually active at night or immediately after dusk. IN natural conditions The basis of food for the anteater are ants and termites, the nests of which are destroyed with the help of very powerful forepaws. Insects that have left their devastated home are collected using their sticky tongue and eaten with lightning speed. Somewhat less frequently, anteaters use bees and larvae of various beetles as food. To enhance digestion processes, anteaters are able to periodically swallow coarse sand, as well as fairly small pebbles. The not very well developed organs of vision and hearing are well compensated by an excellent sense of smell, which allows them to find food.
Types of anteaters
All types of mammals such as the anteater that inhabit rain forests, as well as aquatic or swamp zones and savannas in Central and South America, are represented by terrestrial and tree species.
Ground giant or large anteaters are the largest representatives, belonging to the order of edentates. Average body length adult can vary from one to almost one and a half meters. The length from the tip of the tail to the muzzle is almost three meters.
This is interesting! The body weight of an adult reaches 38-40 kg. The animal has a long and narrow muzzle, reminiscent of a tube, small and narrow eyes, as well as a tongue abundantly moistened with sticky saliva, the length of which is 0.6 meters.
Such a large and massive animal is not capable of climbing trees and is exclusively terrestrial, predominantly night image life. The waking period, as a rule, takes only eight hours a day. When walking giant anteater characteristically bends its claws and rests on the ground with the back of its forelimbs. To protect against enemies, the front clawed paw is used, with the blow of which the animal is capable of inflicting severe injuries on its opponent.
This is the smallest representative of this family. The total body length rarely exceeds 0.4 m with a weight of no more than 350-400 grams The coloring of the anteater's fur is brownish, with an attractive golden tint. The soles of the paws and the tip of the nose are red. The muzzle of the dwarf anteater ends in a proboscis shape, which makes it convenient to eat insects. The complete absence of teeth is compensated by a long and very sticky tongue.
Characteristic feature of this kind is the presence of a very flexible and tenacious tail. It is the tail and front paws, which have elongated claws, that help the animal move easily and quickly enough through the trees, so the genus of dwarf anteaters belongs to the arboreal category.
This is interesting! A distinctive feature is their predominantly nocturnal lifestyle and habitation in tropical, multi-level forest zones. Pygmy anteaters are solitary animals, therefore they never gather in flocks.
The species is represented by the Mexican variety and the true four-toed anteater. The body of these animals is relatively average in size. The body length of a four-toed anteater does not exceed 55-90 centimeters, while the length of the tail can vary between 40-50 cm. The weight of an adult animal is approximately 4.5 kg. The average body length of the Mexican tamandua reaches 75 cm, with a tail length ranging from 40-70 cm.
The muzzle is elongated and curved. The eyes are small.
This is interesting! A characteristic feature is weakness of vision, which is compensated by excellent hearing.
The mouth part is small, and its diameter is sufficient to accommodate a long and sticky tongue. The tail is long and prehensile, without hair at the bottom and at the end. The forelimbs have four fingers with claws. There are five clawed toes on the hind limbs. Mexican tamanduas are distinguished by a strong odor secreted by the anal gland.
Reproduction in nature
Mating occurs once or twice a year, in spring or spring and autumn. Length of pregnancy different types varies from three months up to six months, after which a rather small and naked calf is born, independently climbing onto the back of its mother. Males also take a direct part in raising the younger generation and alternate with females to carry the baby on their backs.
The baby anteater spends a significant part of the time with its mother and father, and only from the age of one month does it gradually begin to a short time leaving their back to go down to the ground. Baby anteaters use a special mass of semi-digested insects for their food, which are regurgitated alternately by a male and a female.
Natural enemies of the anteater
If large-sized, giant anteaters, in their natural habitat, are hunted exclusively by adult jaguars, then dwarf species of tropical animals are forced to beware even large boas and birds of prey, including eagles. For self-defense, they use long claws, which they use, quickly turning over onto their backs.
When danger is detected, pygmy anteaters stand on hind limbs, in a characteristic defensive stance, and hold the forelimbs with long claws in front of the muzzle. The tamandua species also has additional protection in the form of unpleasant odor, thanks to which the local residents nicknamed the animal “forest stink.”
Anteaters can make nests in hollows in trees or in burrows dug by other tropical animals. Most often, the anteater is a solitary animal, but there are also real couples who live together for many years.
Anteaters are completely devoid of teeth, but this does not stop them from eating thirty thousand ants or termites in one day. The tropical animal is an excellent swimmer and can easily overcome the water surface of even very large reservoirs and rivers.
Even wild cats, including the jaguar, do not risk attacking too large individuals of a giant or large anteater, and thanks to its powerful and clawed paws, the animal is capable of killing a relatively large predator with one blow.
In natural conditions, anteaters are quite peaceful and do not show aggression towards other animals, and average duration life is approximately a quarter of a century.
Anteaters are not kept at home very often, which is due to the fairly high cost of exotic animals and the need to provide it with the maximum comfortable conditions for stay. Tropical animal requires strict adherence temperature regime indoors at 24-26 o C.
Personality of the domestic anteater
This is interesting! A certain problem when keeping is the short life expectancy, rarely exceeding five years.
Among other things, the long claws on the forelimbs require periodic sharpening, so anteaters often render furniture and interior items in the room unusable.
Diet of the domestic anteater
Domesticated animals need to be provided with high-quality nutrition that can fully replace natural food. Minced meat, well-cooked rice, chicken or quail eggs as well as fruits.
Where to buy an anteater
IN last years anteaters have competed well with many domesticated wild animals, including snakes, ferrets, foxes, raccoons and iguanas. You need to purchase exotics from a specialized nursery, where the health of the pets is monitored. Average price of a young domestic anteater is 5-6 thousand $. Animals raised in captivity produce offspring only in the first generation, and then the resulting young are kind of sterile, therefore unable to bear offspring.
The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is the most major representative family of anteaters of the order edentates. This amazing animal lives exclusively in South America, in shrub forests in an area stretching from Argentina to Costa Rica. The giant anteater, unlike dwarf breeds, leads a purely terrestrial lifestyle, does not have a permanent den and, in search of food, is capable of making long journeys from place to place.
The giant anteater looks extremely unusual: a third of the length of its body, reaching 130 cm, is accounted for by its elongated, cone-shaped muzzle. The entire body of the anteater is covered with hard dark hair, the length of which in certain areas can reach 40-45 cm. The eyes and ears of this animal are very small and very far from its mouth, although it is quite difficult to call the small hole at the tip of its muzzle a mouth. The diameter of this hole does not exceed 3 cm, there are no teeth, but there is a tongue up to half a meter long, the base of which is attached not to the pharynx, but to the chest.
In general, the anteater has no need for teeth, since its diet consists mainly of termites, ants, their larvae and various caterpillars. Despite the fact that anthills and termite mounds often have strong walls, it is not difficult for an anteater to destroy them: this is precisely why nature has endowed it with powerful paws and long, sharp claws. Having used its paws for their intended purpose, and having destroyed an ant or termite fortress impregnable to competitors, this animal falls with its muzzle to the punched hole and begins to eat. Sticking his long, thin and sticky tongue into various nooks and crannies of the anthill, he pulls out hundreds of stuck insects. At the same time, the tongue works with extraordinary speed: in a minute the anteater throws out and retracts it up to 160 times! And in one sitting he is able to eat up to 35,000 small insects.
Anteaters reproduce extremely slowly: they mate twice a year – in autumn and spring. The female carries a single baby for about six months, and after giving birth, she carries it on her back for a long time, not letting go of her even a step. The baby becomes independent at the age of two, and sexually mature only by the third year of life.
Perhaps it was precisely the low reproduction rate that was the reason for the sharp decline in the number of anteaters: hunting for these animals in local residents has never been popular. Now the giant anteater is under close attention and protection, and is listed in the Red Book International Union nature conservation.
Nature has created many amazing animals, but the one that will be discussed in the article is at the top of this list. The giant three-toed anteater, the photo of which is in front of you, is listed in the IUCN Red List.
This is a large animal with a narrow, tube-like muzzle, a long tongue and a luxurious thick fur coat. His lifestyle in the natural environment is as amazing as his appearance.
Giant anteater: photo, description
As mentioned earlier, the appearance of the three-toed representative of the fauna is very unusual. Giant anteater - largest predator South America. Its body length reaches 1.30 m and weighs 40 kg. A meter long fluffy tail is added to the length. The limbs do not allow the predator to move quickly, but they are armed with powerful claws (1-7 cm).
The head size is small, but the muzzle is extremely elongated (25-30% of body length) and narrow. The beast practically cannot open its mouth due to the fact that the jaws are fused together. At the end of the snout-tube there are nostrils and a tiny mouth. The anteater has no teeth. The tongue, 55-60 cm long, has powerful muscles.
The fur of the three-toed beauty is thick, hard and unusually elastic. Muzzle almost without hairline, towards the body it becomes longer and longer, turning into a voluminous mane located along the ridge. There are the same lush frills on the paws.
The tail is the pride of the anteater! It is covered with long hair (60 cm). This beauty hangs down to the ground. An animal can easily cover itself with such a tail, like a warm blanket.
Most often, the fur color of the giant anteater is silver, with a gray tint; sometimes cocoa color is found. A wide black stripe runs diagonally across the entire body, from the chest to the sacrum. The lower part of the tail, underbelly and head is black-brown in color.
Habitat
The giant anteater is native to South America. For the last millions of years, representatives of this species live in sparse forests and shrubby savanna. The “home” of these animals is considered to be the territory from the Gran Chaco in Argentina to Costa Rica in Central America.
Wild Lifestyle
The anteater animal is quite peaceful, the main thing is not to anger or threaten it. All day long, all he does is walk around in search of anthills and termite mounds to feast on insects. Other predators try to avoid this clumsy goosebump lover. He does not run away from danger, but turns to the enemy, stands on hind legs and embraces him in a “deadly embrace”, launching her sharp huge claws into his body. The anteater never attacks first.
Anteaters cannot be called homebodies, and they don’t even have a home. Throughout their lives, they wander, moving from place to place, and do not develop their own lair. They prefer to live in open and semi-open areas.
The large anteater is a terrestrial animal; climbing trees is not in its habits and capabilities. During the daytime, these predators like to sleep and relax in a secluded place, and at night they are active. The anteater cannot walk quickly, much less run - its claws interfere with it. In order to somehow move, the animal bends them over.
What does an anteater eat?
The giant anteater mainly feeds on ants, this is immediately clear from the name of the animal. The menu of this amazing predator includes caterpillars, termites, millipedes, woodlice, and insect larvae. If the favorite food could not be obtained, the animal will happily enjoy the berries.
Watching an anteater eat near an ant heap is very funny. First, he makes a hole in the insects' house with his claws. Then he sticks a thin, long, sticky tongue into it. The animal uses it to penetrate all the nooks and crannies of the anthill, where hundreds of insects stick to the tongue.
The interesting thing is that in captivity these animals easily adapt to a more varied diet. They eat fruits, meat, boiled eggs and even milk with appetite. Just before feeding, it is necessary to chop the food and grind the meat into minced meat, because the anteater has a very small mouth. It simply won’t push large pieces into it.
Mating season
The giant anteater is one of the animals that roam alone. Couples, of course, meet, but not a male with a female, but a mother who raises her cub. Only when it comes mating season, which occurs annually in the spring and fall, anteaters meet to conceive offspring.
Having fulfilled his duty by impregnating the female, the male proudly retires, returning to his lonely life as an eternal wanderer. The female will have to bear the baby for about six months and then take care of it herself.
Caring for offspring
Anteaters reproduce very slowly, because there is only one in one litter. little cub. It is born covered with fur, the weight of the newborn cub is about 1.4-1.8 kg. Maternal instinct The female is extremely strong: she devotes her entire life to her offspring. Not having had time to raise one cub, the female is already caring for another.
When a baby anteater is born, it almost immediately settles on its mother’s back. From that moment on, the cub travels with her in this way. When you look at this small family, you don’t even immediately notice that the cub is nestled on the female’s back, its fur merges so much with the mother’s fur.
At the age of one month, the small furry predator is able to move independently. He no longer rides on his mother's back, but literally follows on her heels. This continues until the young anteater is two years old. Only at this age does the animal become independent and can do without the care of its mother.
Giant anteater: interesting facts
Specialists studying the world of anteaters managed to learn many interesting facts about these animals:
A predator's tongue works with unique speed. In a minute, the giant anteater throws out and retracts it about 150-160 times.
. The length of the tongue is about 60 cm, which has no analogues among land inhabitants.
. During the day, an anteater can eat about 30,000 insects.
. The muscles that control the tongue are attached to the sternum.
. The anteater's teeth are located in its stomach, which is extremely muscular. On its walls there is a hard, keratinized lining.
. Insects enter the animal's stomach alive, and the keratinized spines on the palate and folds on the cheeks prevent them from getting back out.
Anteater and man
The natives of South America have always hunted giant anteaters for meat. But the number of these animals was inexorably declining not only for this reason. The fact is that they depend on specific sources of their usual food. Their natural habitats were destroyed, and as a result of such human activities, the appearance of these amazing predators was on the verge of extinction.
Meet a giant anteater in wildlife It's getting more and more difficult. It is sad to note the fact that their numbers in zoos are also insignificant, despite the fact that in captivity these predators take root well. Only by creating favorable conditions For the survival of anteaters, people will be able to help ensure that such unusual creatures of nature will again restore their numbers, and they will not be in danger of extinction.
Perhaps there are not many animals on earth as strange and unusual as the anteater. When you see this creature, the first thing that catches your eye is its long and narrow snout, like a tube, with small eyes and a very small mouth. But the huge claws, thick fur and long fluffy tail of the giant anteater are the envy of all animals.
The anteater belongs to the class of mammals of the anteater family, the order of edentates. The family includes 3 modern genera:
1) The genus Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga Linnaeus) is represented by the species Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla).
The body length of this species is 1-1.9 m, weight 18–39 kg. The body is compressed from the sides, the neck is elongated, greatly expanding towards the base. The tail is long. The paws are five-toed, the front ones are longer than the hind ones.
In the photo, the giant anteater shows off its luxurious tail.
A giant member of the family inhabits South America east of the Andes, south to Argentina and Uruguay, as well as southern part Central America. Lives in various biotypes from swampy plains and pampas to tropical rainforests.
2) The genus of four-toed anteaters (Tamandua Gray) is represented by the species four-toed anteater, or tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla).
Body length 53–88 cm, weight 3.6–8.4 kg. On the forelimbs, 4 fingers are armed with long claws, on the hind limbs, all five fingers are armed with short claws. The tail is long, its tip is bare, and is capable of grasping tree branches.
In the photo there is a tamandua anteater: he is as comfortable in the trees as on the ground.
Tamandua lives in Central and South America to northern Argentina and Uruguay. Distributed in various types forests, tries to stay in areas close to water with thickets of climbing plants. Can climb mountains up to 2000 m.
3) The genus Dwarf Anteater (Cyclopes Gray) is represented by the species Dwarf Anteater (Cyclopes didactylus).
Body length 15–20 cm, weight no more than 400 grams. The body is cylindrical. The limbs are five-fingered. The tail is longer than the body, with a wide base, prehensile, at the end of the tail there is a bare area.
Anteaters – the only representatives Incomplete edentates (Xenarthra), (which includes, along with them, the extinct glyptodonts), which have no teeth.
The muzzle of the animals is disproportionately long; in the giant species, the head exceeds 30 cm. The mouth opening is very narrow. The tongue, narrow and round in cross-section, is very long: in the tamandua it extends to 40 cm, and in the giant anteater - up to 61 cm. In all species, the tongue is covered with small back-pointing spines and a thick layer of sticky saliva, which is secreted by large salivary glands.
At the giant and dwarf species the largest claws are on the second and third fingers, in tamandua - on the second, third and fourth. When moving, animals bend and tuck their fingers inward, avoiding contact of sharp claws with the ground.
Only the giant anteater can boast of long and elastic hair; other species have short hair.
Based on slight differences in coloration, giant anteaters are divided into three subspecies, and the Mexican tamandua into 5.
The main part of the fur of the giant species is colored silver-gray. Color variations depend on the size and intensity of the dark color of the "vest"; however, such coloring is inherent to all individuals to one degree or another.
Tamandua has a very great variety color variations. Animals in the northern part of their range have uniformly light skin, while in the southern part they have a pronounced dark “vest.” Differences between species are most pronounced at the boundaries of their ranges. IN northern regions Anteaters are uniformly golden in color or have a dark dorsal stripe, but as they move south they become increasingly gray and have a darker dorsal stripe.
Anteater diet
The diet of these mammals consists exclusively of social insects, primarily ants and termites, and such a diet requires adaptations not only of the chewing apparatus and digestive tract, but also of behavior, metabolic rate and mode of movement. The giant species eats large-sized ants and termites, the tamandua eats medium-sized ones, and the dwarf species specializes in the smallest. Tamandua, for example, usually eats up to 9 thousand ants per day, and the giant one can eat 30 thousand ants per day.
These animals are picky and avoid swallowing soldier ants, as well as ants and termites that have chemical defenses.
Anteaters usually do not drink, but are content with the water they receive with their food.
The method of food absorption is unique among mammals. Anteaters are cutting down masticatory muscles in order to turn out the halves of the lower jaw, and thus open the mouth. The mouth is closed by the pterygoid muscles. The result is simplified and minimal jaw movement consistent with the inward and outward movement of the tongue. This technique allows for almost continuous swallowing and maximizes the rate of food consumption. These movements of the tongue are controlled by a special muscle that is attached to the base of the sternum.
Another one unique feature anteaters - lack of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which should help digestion. And it is replaced by formic acid from food.
All anteaters have low level metabolism, while giant representatives family most low temperature bodies among placental mammals (32.7° C). The body temperature of the tamandua and the dwarf species is slightly higher.
Lifestyle of anteaters
All kinds lead single image life.
The giant anteater lives on the ground and feeds primarily during the day, although if disturbed by people it becomes nocturnal.
Tamandua can be active at any time of the day; it is equally at home both on the ground and in the trees.
The dwarf species leads completely wood image life, active mainly at night.
All species can dig, climb and walk on the ground. However, the giant anteater rarely climbs, preferring to stay on the ground, while the dwarf anteater, on the contrary, is comfortable in trees and reluctantly descends to the ground.
Tamanduas make nests in tree hollows; giant ones dig small depressions in the ground in which they can rest for up to 15 hours a day. For camouflage, they cover their body with a huge shaggy tail. Pygmy anteaters usually sleep with their arms wrapped around a branch and their tail wrapped around their hind legs.
Individual sites of giant representatives of the family in places of abundance of food can be only 0.5 km2 in area. Such areas exist, for example, in tropical forests on Barro Colorado Island (Panama). But in places where there are not many ants and termites, one giant anteater may require up to 2.5 hectares.
The appearance of offspring
U giant species and tamandua the mating season is in the fall, and in the spring a single young is born. The baby is born mature and already has sharp claws. Using its claws, the little anteater climbs onto its mother's back almost immediately after birth. The cub feeds on milk for about six months, but can remain with its mother for another 1.5 years until it reaches sexual maturity.
Baby giant anteater - exact copies parents, and tamandua babies do not look very much like their parents; their color can vary from white to black.
In dwarf anteaters, mating occurs most often in the spring, sometimes in the fall. Both mother and father carry the young on themselves and feed them regurgitated, semi-digested ants.
Enemies
In their natural habitat, only pumas and jaguars pose a threat to giant anteaters, but since our hero is able to fend for himself, they usually prefer not to mess with them. When repelling an attack, the animals stand on their hind legs and desperately chop the enemy with claws reaching a length of 10 cm. They can even squeeze and crush the enemy.
Pygmy anteaters are less fortunate: in nature, even birds of prey and boa constrictors pose a danger to them. But these little ones also try to defend themselves: in case of danger, they stand on their hind legs in a protective stance, and hold their front paws with long claws in front of their muzzle. And tamandua as additional protection They also use a strong odor released by the anal gland.
Conservation in nature
Local residents rarely hunt anteaters for meat; Tamandua skins are used in artisanal tanning, but only insignificantly. However, the giant anteater has disappeared from most of the historical area in Central America due to habitat destruction and human activity. In South America, anteaters are often hunted for trophies by animal traders. In some parts of Peru and Brazil they were completely exterminated.
Tamandua is also persecuted - it defends itself effectively, so they hunt it for sport with dogs. Tamanduas often die under the wheels of cars. However, the most serious threat to these animals is habitat loss and the destruction of the few insect species on which they can feed.
Anteaters are perhaps one of the most amazing mammals on our planet; thanks to their more than unusual appearance, they have gained wide fame among lovers of exotic animals. And the first person who had his own pet anteater was the great and eccentric artist Salvador Dali; it is quite possible that the appearance of this animal inspired him to paint his unusual paintings. As for anteaters, they belong to the order of incomplete teeth, their distant relatives are armadillos and (although they are not at all similar in appearance), there are three species of anteaters themselves; in natural conditions they live exclusively on the American continent, but read on for more details about all this .
Anteater - description, structure. What does an anteater look like?
The sizes of anteaters vary depending on the species, so the largest giant anteater reaches two meters in length, and what is interesting is that half of its size is in the tail. Its weight is approximately 30-35 kg.
The smallest dwarf anteater is only 16-20 cm in length and weighs no more than 400 grams.
The anteater's head is small, but very elongated, and its length can be 30% of the length of its body. The anteater's jaws are practically fused together, so it is impossible for him to open his mouth wide, however, he does not need to do this. Like having teeth. Yes, anteaters literally have no teeth at all, but the lack of teeth is more than compensated for by the anteater’s long and muscular tongue, which stretches along the entire length of their muzzle and is a real source of pride for this animal. The length of the giant anteater's tongue reaches 60 cm, this is the longest tongue among all living creatures living on Earth.
The eyes and ears of anteaters are not large, but their paws are strong, muscular, and also armed with long and curved claws. These very claws are their only detail appearance, which recalls their relationship with sloths and armadillos. Anteaters also have a well-developed charm and can smell potential prey.
Also, anteaters are the owners of rather long and, moreover, muscular tails, which have useful application– with their help, anteaters can move through trees.
The giant anteater has long fur, especially on its tail, which gives it a broom-like appearance. But in other species of anteaters, the fur, on the contrary, is short and stiff.
Where does the anteater live?
Like their other relatives from the order of edentates, anteaters live exclusively in Central and South America, especially many of them live in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Northern border Their habitat is in Mexico. Anteaters are heat-loving animals and, accordingly, live exclusively in places with warm climate. They like to settle in forests (all anteaters, with the exception of the giant one, easily climb trees) and grassy plains, where many insects live - their potential food.
What does an anteater eat?
As you can guess from the name of this animal, the favorite food of anteaters is, of course, ants, as well as termites. But they are not averse to feasting on other insects, but only small ones, but large insects There is no need to be afraid of anteaters; they simply do not eat them. The point here is that anteaters have no teeth; as a result, they swallow their prey whole, and in their stomach it is digested by gastric juice. And since the food of anteaters is small, and the size, on the contrary, is not so small to feed themselves, they devote all their time to searching for something to eat. Like living vacuum cleaners, they roam the jungle, constantly sniffing out and sucking in everything edible. If on the way of an anteater he suddenly encounters an anthill or a termite mound, then a real holiday and a feast for the whole world begins for him (only for ants or termites such a meeting turns into a real disaster).
In the process of absorbing food, the anteater's tongue moves at an incredible speed - up to 160 times per minute. Prey sticks to it thanks to sticky saliva.
Enemies of anteaters
However, the anteaters themselves, in turn, can also become prey for others. dangerous predators, especially jaguars, and big boas. True, to protect against the latter, anteaters have a significant argument - muscular paws with claws. In case of danger, the anteater falls on its back and begins to swing all four paws in all directions. No matter how funny and clumsy such a spectacle may look, in such a position the anteater can inflict serious wounds on its potential offender.
Types of anteaters, photos and names
As we wrote at the beginning, there are three types of anteaters in nature, and further we will write about each of them.
Most big representative family of anteaters, living in South and Central America and also the only one of this family, unable due to big size climb trees. Leads a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle; when walking, it characteristically bends its legs, resting on the back of the forelimbs. A means of protection against predators are sharp claws on powerful paws.
Pygmy anteater
On the contrary, it is the smallest anteater living in the tropical forests of South America. The pygmy anteater can climb trees very well; moreover, trees are a safe refuge for it from predators. Like other anteaters, it feeds on small insects, ants, termites, and is nocturnal.
Tamandua anteater
He is also a four-toed anteater, lives in Central America, and there are also especially many of them in southern Mexico. It is relatively small in size, larger than the dwarf anteater, but much smaller than the giant one, its body length is up to 88 cm, weight - 4-5 kg. Just like its dwarf relative, tamandua climbs trees well; according to the observations of Venezuelan zoologists, it spends from 13 to 64% of its life in trees. He has poor eyesight, but has excellent charm, and uses his sense of smell to find his favorite prey, ants and termites.
Interesting fact: the Amazon Indians long ago tamed tamandua anteaters, which have been used since ancient times to combat ants and termites in their homes.
How long do anteaters live?
The average lifespan of anteaters is 15 years.
How do anteaters reproduce?
Anteaters mate twice a year: in spring and autumn. Pregnancy lasts from three months to six months, depending on the species, after which a completely naked little anteater is born, which, however, is already able to independently climb onto its mother’s back.
Interesting fact: anteater dads also take an active part in raising their babies, carrying them on their backs together with their mother.
Up to a month of life, little anteaters move exclusively on the backs of their parents and only then begin to take their first independent steps.
Feeding baby anteaters may not seem like a very pleasant sight to us; mom and dad anteaters regurgitate a special mass of semi-digested insects, which serves as food for the growing little anteaters.
- A typical voracious anteater can eat up to 30 thousand ants or termites in a day.
- Anteaters are not herd animals; they prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle, at most a family one. However, when in captivity they can play well with each other.
- Anteaters have a peaceful nature, which makes them amenable to domestication; they can get along well with more common pets: dogs, and even love to play with children. True, keeping an anteater at home is not so easy, because they cannot stand the cold at all; the favorable temperature for them should be no lower than 24-26 C.
- Anteaters, among other things, are good swimmers and can easily swim across tropical bodies of water.
Anteater, video
And finally for you a funny video about anteaters, called “10 reasons to get an anteater.”
This article is available at English language — .
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