giant anteater

The giant anteater is very unique in appearance and is the largest animal among the anteaters. The head and body are 1,000-1,200 mm long, the tail is 650-900 mm long, and the weight is 18-39 kg. The snout is very long, up to 45 cm. The head is slender, the eyes and ears are very small, the snout is tubular, toothless, and the tongue is slender and retractable to lick ants, termites and other insects. The tail is large and bushy, almost as long as the body. This fluffy and hairy tail, which is about one meter long, can be used as an umbrella on rainy and hot days, and it becomes a plush blanket when spread on the ground at night. The fur is thick and rough, long and hard, up to 40 cm long. The body is grayish white to brown, with broad black vertical stripes on both sides of the back and white edges. There are black and white stripes on the shoulders and a tuft of hair in the middle of the back. The forelimbs are white with black bands on the toes.

The giant anteater has five toe

Giant anteaters are native to South and Central America. They appear to have stagnated for a long time throughout their evolutionary history, living not far from northern Central America, most likely due to cooler weather and forest changes. Archaeologists have discovered the fossil remains of anteaters. The fossils of these giant anteaters were found more than 3,000 kilometers northwest of the Sonora Desert in Mexico, dating back to the early Pleistocene epoch 600,000 years ago. But according to research, it roamed from northern Argentina to Honduras in South America. Giant anteaters once lived in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize, Uruguay and the Andes. as far north as Mexico, but due to the loss of natural resources they no longer inhabit these parts of the world. Giant anteaters mainly inhabit tropical grasslands and sparse forests, and especially like to build their homes in low-lying areas near water, in forests, and in swamps. Lives in a variety of habitats including swamps, forests

Giant anteaters may occupy territories as large as 9,000 hectares. Communication and perception, as well as most communication, occurs between young and their mothers, including courtship and fighting when they are only briefly together. These include fighting, sniffing, hissing, and growling during fights. Poor vision and hearing. The sense of smell is highly developed, 40 times that of humans. Giant anteaters live on the ground, usually alone except for a young mother-child pair. Day and night. It has a gentle temperament and is harmless to humans and animals. If it encounters danger, the giant anteater will run away quickly, making very ugly movements. If it really can't escape, it will sit on the ground with its tail, raise its front body, and fight back with the strong claws of its front feet. At the same time, it will make a strange whistle in its mouth to threaten the enemy.

    When giant anteaters meet in the wild, they often ignore each other or run away, although violent fights can occur. Giant anteaters are generally found during the day and night, becoming nocturnal in areas with high human density or under certain weather conditions. They are terrestrial animals. Giant anteaters are active both during the day and at night, adjusting to different environments. They are terrestrial animals and good swimmers. They can swim across wide rivers and bathe in water. The giant anteater's tail not only wraps itself around itself to retain heat while sleeping, but also helps camouflage itself while sleeping. Not commonly climbed in the wild, but they are reported to be good at climbing out of captivity. Sleep in abandoned caves, dense vegetation or depressions in the ground. Although they have good digging abilities, they do not build burrows of their own. When fighting occurs, it is common to assume a bipedal stance by balancing on the tail and fighting on the forelimbs. They break their pace and move slowly when walking, but are capable of running quickly when necessary. They bear weight on their knuckles and wrists to protect their claws.

    Giant anteaters basically feed on ants. They have no teeth and have a very long mouth. When the nose at the front of the long mouth smells the smell of termites, it starts to use its sharp front claws to dig open the ant castle. When the termites flee in panic, it sticks out its tongue, which is about 30 centimeters long, and uses the mucus on its tongue to stick to the termites, then puts them into its mouth and swallows them whole. They use their tongues to collect eggs, larvae, and adults. During eating, the salivary glands secrete thick saliva, which thins the tongue.  They only stay in a colony for a short time to avoid the aggressive soldier ants that will soon arrive.

 The giant anteater uses its sense of smell to find ant nests. It spends an average of 1 minute in each ant nest looking for food. It visits 200 ant nests every day and can eat 30,000 ants a day. Like birds, giant anteaters eat sand to aid digestion. Since giant anteaters cannot secrete stomach acid, they need to supplement formic acid in time to digest food. Their tongue is attached to the breastbone and moves very quickly, flicking up to 150 times per minute. Fruit may be eaten occasionally.

Giant anteaters can use their huge front paws to protect themselves from predators, although their typical response to a threat is to run away. Their size makes them virtually impervious to all animals except predators - jaguars and mountain lions. But they are often killed by humans, either intentionally hunting or inadvertently colliding with cars. The giant anteater is currently listed as a "Vulnerable" species on the IUCN Red List, and is also listed as an Appendix II species by the CITES Convention. Threats to giant anteaters include habitat destruction, fire, and poaching for fur and game.