Giant in the Pantanal

Giant in the Pantanal

We are so excited to meet our first animal here in the Pantanal. Many of you are probably familiar with this mammal. They have long noses that are good at sniffing out ants! Are you ready to learn more about the giant anteater?

Giant Anteater Fun Facts: 

• Anteaters have no teeth!
• Their tongues are about 2 feet long! They can flick those tongues into anthills and termite mounds at the rate of 160 times per mintue!
• They use those tongues to eat 35,000 ants and termites each day! Anyone wonder if they tickle?
• They use their long claws to dig into an anthill. They have to must eat quickly- as the ants do start biting.
• Giant anteaters can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh up to 90 lbs.
• These crazy looking critters have poor eyesight! They find those ants by smell!
• You might think they can’t fend off predators, but those 4 inch ant digging claws have a second adaptation- swiping away predators like jaguars.

We are big giant anteater fans! They little ones right around on their mom’s backs. It is so cute! Do you know some of the anteaters relatives?