Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

Giant Anteater overview

The giant anteater is the largest of the four anteater species, a long-snouted, bushy-tailed insect eater of Central and South American grasslands and forests. It has no teeth at all. Instead it tears open ant and termite nests with huge front claws and collects the insects with a sticky tongue that can extend about 60 cm. To protect those claws it walks on its knuckles with the claws curled under. Giant anteaters are solitary, have poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell, and sleep curled up under their fan-like tails. Their closest relatives are the tamanduas and sloths.

How Long Do Giant Anteaters Live?

Giant anteaters are estimated to live about 14 years in the wild and commonly reach 20–26 years in human care. Wild lifespans are poorly documented. Jaguars and pumas are their main natural predators, while road collisions and grassland fires kill many.

How Much Does a Giant Anteater Weigh?

Adult giant anteaters weigh 27–50 kg (60–110 lb). Males weigh 33–50 kg and females 27–47 kg. Despite that bulk, the body temperature is unusually low for a mammal, about 33 °C, reflecting the low energy value of an insect diet.

How Long Is a Giant Anteater?

A giant anteater is 1.8–2.2 m (6–7 ft) long from the snout to the tip of the tail. The bushy tail accounts for 60–90 cm, and the tubular head alone is about 30 cm long. It stands roughly 60 cm at the shoulder.

How Fast Can a Giant Anteater Run?

Giant anteaters are usually said to gallop at up to about 50 km/h (31 mph) over short distances, although precise measurements are lacking. They normally walk with a slow shuffle. They are also good swimmers, using the long snout like a snorkel.

How Long Is a Giant Anteater Pregnant?

A giant anteater is pregnant for 170–190 days, or about six months. The female gives birth standing up to a single pup weighing a little over 1 kg, which climbs onto her back and rides there, camouflaged against her stripe, for six to nine months.

What Do Giant Anteaters Eat?

Giant anteaters are insectivores that eat ants and termites almost exclusively, as many as 30,000 a day. The tongue flicks in and out up to 150 times a minute. Each nest visit lasts only about a minute, which limits stings and keeps the colony alive for future meals.

Diet type: insectivore. Almost entirely ants and termites, as many as 30,000 a day, lapped up with a sticky tongue. It feeds briefly at each nest and moves on, and occasionally eats beetle larvae, bees and fallen fruit.

Where Do Giant Anteaters Live?

Giant anteaters live in savannas, grasslands, swamps and tropical forests from Honduras to northern Argentina. They are most numerous in open country such as Brazil's Cerrado and Pantanal and the Venezuelan and Colombian llanos, wherever ants and termites are abundant.

Are Giant Anteaters Endangered?

Giant anteaters are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the population is decreasing. Habitat loss to agriculture, wildfires, road kills, hunting and dog attacks are the main threats. The species has disappeared from several Central American countries and from Uruguay.

Vulnerable

Giant Anteater fun facts

• The giant anteater's tongue is about 60 cm (2 ft) long, is anchored to the breastbone and is covered in tiny backward-pointing spines and sticky saliva.
• Giant anteaters have no teeth; they crush insects against the hard palate and grind them in a muscular stomach with swallowed sand and soil.
• The species name tridactyla means 'three fingers', referring to the three most visible claws, although each front foot has five digits.
• A cornered giant anteater rears up on its hind legs and slashes with 10 cm claws, a defense that can deter even jaguars.
• Giant anteaters cover themselves with their large bushy tails when they sleep, as a blanket and as camouflage.

Giant Anteater FAQ

Related animals

All mammals