Facts about Anteater
The female releases her eggs, which the male frog covers with a sperm solution.
Anteaters are usually non-gregarious animals and come together primarily for the purpose of breeding.
The term terrorism comes from the French word terrorisme, which is based on the Latin verb terrere (to cause to tremble).
Reflecting the harmony in nature, anteaters feed only a short time and lightly at any one termite or ant nest and then move on, allowing the insects to replenish their colonies rapidly.
The giant anteater's species name, tridactyla, comes from "tri" and "dactylos," which are Greek words for "three fingers".
The two anteaters of the genus Tamandua, the southern tamandua (T. tetradactyla) and the northern tamandua (T. mexicana), are much smaller than the giant anteater, only about 3 feet (90 cm) long.
The silky anteater is only about 14 inches (35 cm) long, nearly about the size of a rat.
The lesser anteaters are hunted for the tendons in their tails, which make good ropes; they are also used by natives to rid houses of ants.
The anteater rips open a termite or ant hill with its clawed hand and works its tubular snout into the opening, sticking its long, worm–shaped tongue down into the heart of the colony.
The lesser anteaters differ essentially from giant anteaters in their habits, being mainly arboreal and nocturnal.
Both the tamanduas and the silky anteater possess partially prehensile tails for helping them in their arboreal life.
Anteaters feed almost exclusively on ants and termites, although they also take some beetle larvae and bees, and in captivity the giant anteaters accept some fruits (Myers 2001).
The giant anteater frequents low swampy savannas, along the banks of rivers, and the depths of the humid forests, but is not abundant anywhere.
Anteater is the common name for truly toothless mammals of South and Central America that are highly specialized for feeding on ants and termites from their nest hills.
An embrace by the giant anteater's powerful forelimbs can sometimes prove fatal.
Anteaters have generally poor hearing and eyesight, but a very good sense of smell.
Giant anteaters also are killed because they are mistakenly believed to kill dogs and cattle, and, perhaps most frequently, because they are easy to kill (CMN 2007).
Anteaters seldom spend more than a couple of minutes feeding at any one nest.
Giant anteaters are sometimes mistaken for bears because of their claws and bushy fur.
The anteaters circulate around their territories, feeding lightly here and there, never destroying any one nest and, therefore, never eliminating any of their food bases.
The giant anteater walks clumsily on the soles of its back feet and on the in–turned claws of its front feet.
Usually males are larger than females; however, in silky anteaters they are of the same size.
The two anteaters of the genus Tamandua, the southern tamandua (T. tetradactyla) and the northern tamandua (T. mexicana), are much smaller than the giant anteater, only about 3 feet (90 cm) long.
All four species of anteaters are found exclusively in South and Central America.
A full–grown giant anteater eats upwards of 30,000 ants and termites a day (CMN 2007).
Each night, a giant anteater finds a secluded spot and curls up to sleep, with its long bushy tail covering its head and body.
The lesser anteaters differ essentially from giant anteaters in their habits, being mainly arboreal and nocturnal.