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| Giant
Anteater |
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| Common
Name: |
giant
anteater |
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| Class:
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Mammalia |
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| Order: |
Xenarthra |
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| Family:
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Myrmecophagidae |
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| Genus
species: |
Myrmecophaga
(to eat ants) tridactyla (three toe/finger) |
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| Fast
Facts |
| Description:
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Tapered
head with a long, tubular mouth opening. They have poor visibility,
but excellent hearing and sense of smell. their body is long and slender.
Their coat is a coarse dense fur with a gray coloring and a black
and white stripe. |
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| Size:
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180
to 240 cm. (6-8 ft.) long and plus a tail of 69 to 87 cm (2.3 - 2.9
ft.) |
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| Weight:
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males
can get above 45.5 kg (100 lbs.), but usually 20 to 40.9 kg (44-90
lb.); females 20% smaller |
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| Diet:
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insects
such as termites, ants, beetles, insect larvae; occasionally fruit.
It gets it's water needs by licking wet plants. |
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| Gestation: |
180
to 190 days; one offspring per birth |
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| Sexual
maturity: |
2 to
3 years |
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| Life
span: |
Unknown
in the wild; up to 26 years in captivity |
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| Range:
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| Habitat:
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grasslands,
savannas, and open tropical forests from Mexico to Northern Argentina |
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| Population: |
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| Status:
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protected
by CITES Appendix II |
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| RETURN
TO TOP |
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| Fun
Facts |
| 1. |
Anteaters
do not have teeth; instead, they have tongues can reach as much as
two feet in length! They use this giant tongue to gather insects for
food, extending it up to 150 times per minute. |
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| 2. |
Anteaters
sleep as much as 15 hours each day, hunting for food at night. They
are able to detect insects with their powerful sense of smell, 40
times that of man. That means they can detect scents from nearly miles
away! |
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| 3. |
They
can eat up to 30,000 insects a day. |
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| 4. |
Usually
only one baby is born at a time. It nurses for six months and is carried
on the mother's back for up to a year. |
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| Ecology
and Conservation |
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The
giant anteaters are becoming quite rare due to the exotic pet trade
and habitat destruction. In South America, they are hunted for their
meat and for trophies. Some are also killed because they are mistaken
to kill cattle and dogs. Anteaters are essential in maintaining
insect populations. In addition, they are food for other larger
carnivores.
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| RETURN
TO TOP |
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| Bibliography |
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Grzimek,
H.C. Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw-Hill
Publishing Company. 1990.
|
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|
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Nowak,
R. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins
University Press. 5(1):522-3 |
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|
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First
Day Cover Store. March, 1997. www.unicover.com Dec. 8, 2000 |
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|
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Philadelphia
Zoo. www.phillyzoo.org Dec. 8, 2000 |
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|
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Santa
Barbara Zoo. www.santabarbarazoo.com Dec. 8, 2000 |
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www.cooltoons.com
Dec. 8, 2000 |
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www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines
Dec. 8, 2000 |
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www.ioz.ac.uk
Dec. 8, 2000 |
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www.nature.ca
Dec. 8, 2000 |
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| RETURN
TO TOP |
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| Return
to Expedition
Pantanal 2002 |
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| Return
to Animal Bytes |
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