Giant Anteater — Brevard Zoo

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Giant Anteater

The Giant Anteater, (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), is the largest species of anteater. It is found in Central and South America. It is the only species in the Myrmecophaga genus.

It is a solitary animal, found in many habitats, including grasslands, deciduous forests and rain forests. It feeds mainly on ants and termites, sometimes up to 30,000 insects in a single day.

Giant Anteater

The Giant Anteater is one of only two types of mammals without any teeth, even in a mature state (the Pangolins comprising the other). An ant eater instead crushes insects it consumes using hard growths found on the inside of its mouth, and its muscular stomach. Sand and small rocks have also been found in anteaters' stomachs, suggesting that these are ingested to aid digestion.

It grows to a size of 6 feet (1.8 m) to 8 feet (2.4 m) long, including a 3 foot (90 cm) to 4 foot (1.2 m) torso and tail. Generally it weighs from 65 (29 kg) to 140 pounds (65 kg).

The Giant Anteater is covered with stiff, straw-like hair which grows up to 40 cm long on the tail. Young have soft hair until they mature. The dominant coloring may be gray or brown, but all have a diagonal black and white shoulder stripe.

The Giant Anteater is generally acknowledged to have a keen sense of smell, used to locate ants, but is thought to have poor sight and hearing.