World of Animals
Featured Animals
General
Giant Anteaters are unique South American animals. We hope you enjoy learning about them! To jump to a specific section, use our Quick Jump below by clicking on the correct heading.
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| Sizes -Body Length: 40-48 in -Tail Length: 28-35 in -Weight- 44-90 lbs. (males slightly heavier than females) |
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-lives solitary life
-habitat includes rainforests, grasslands, and mixed forest and semiarid regions of Central and South America
-spends day searching for food
-exceptional senses of smell and hearing
-range usually covers about one-half square mile
-in places with less food, range = mile
-at night, scrapes out a hollow in soil in which to sleep, or uses an existing burrow of another animal
-when it sleeps, it curls its bushy tail around it self
-helps keep warm
-tail is almost as long as body
-diet consists mainly of ground-dwelling ants
-occasionally will eat termites and army ants
-uses acute sense of smell to detect ants
-long claws are used to get in nests
-catches ants with long sticky tongue-gets most of the moisture (water) it needs from food
-also eats fruit and larvae
-is prey to jaguars and other large cats
-coat gives good camouflage
-uses claws to defend itself
-can inflict serious wounds on predator with claws
-most vulnerable species of anteater
-likely to become in danger of extinction in next few years
Links for More Information
-Giant Anteater