Today is World Anteater Day, and though in theory I ought to be resting after an exhausting weekend involving extra standing time to present about barriers to care in spinal CSF leak at a conference, instead I am sharing some fun facts about one of my favourite animals.

Those of you who have been here for some time may remember "On Shoebills", my post about one of the weirdest, most wondrous birds out there (that I love). Similarly, anteaters are both strange and adorable, and I thought today was a good day to tell you all why I am obsessed with them.

Your anteater crash course

For starters: anteaters are mammals native to Central and South America. There are many things that make them unique. One may argue that it's due to their steady diet of ants and termites, which — ok, sure, that's pretty unusual. But there's a lot more that makes them interesting.

Before we dive in, it's worth mentioning that there are four different species of anteaters.

  • Giant anteater (also known as the ant bear), Myrmecophaga tridactyla is primary ground dwelling, unless the other species in the anteater category. It grows to 182–217cm (5.97–7.12 feet) in length, with weights of 33–41 kg (73–90 pounds) for males and 27–39 kg (60–86 pounds) for females. It is recognizable not just because it's a freaking giant, but by its extra adorable snout, bushy tail, long fore claws, and distinctively excellent colour- blocking coat. That fluffy tail provides a great tool, too: anteaters use it to cover their bodies when they sleep, both to conserve heat or provide shade, depending on what is needed. Also, it provides good camouflage from predators. Despite the videos you may have seen of their slow, shuffling gait as they vacuum up ants, this species of anteater can gallop fast when they need to, and may wander an average of 3,700m (12,100 feet) per day. They're also great swimmers. Ant bears are mostly solitary except for mother-offspring relationships, "aggressive interactions between males" (so says every article I've read), and when mating. Giant anteaters also have have the lowest body temperature of any land-dwelling mammal. They're reported to live up to 14 years.

    Giant Anteater photo by Joel Sartore, one of the best animal photographers in the world.

  • Northern tamandua, Tamandua mexicana are semi-arboreal, meaning that they live partly in trees. The Northern Tamandua closely resembles its southern relative, below, but this species always looks like it as a black fur vest on (officially called a "black-vested pattern"). Like other anteaters, Northern tamandua are highly adapted to their insect-filled diet, with a long tongue that has heaps of sticky saliva to pick up all the ants and termites it could dream of. It's primarily nocturnal, and inhabits forests from Southern Mexico, through Central America to Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, and the northwestern corner of Peru, in cloud forests, evergreen, mangrove swamps, and more. There are also 4 subtypes of Northern Tamandua, but I will run out of uptime typing this if I keep getting more detailed. Suffice it to say: if your anteater isn't a giant but does have a black vest on: it most likely a Northern Tamandua. They're reported to live up to 9.5 years.

  • Southern tamandua, also known as the collared anteater or lesser anteater, with latin name Tamandua tetradactyla. They're called lesser anteaters because they are much smaller than their giant anteater relatives, and perhaps also because they've got shorter fur and muzzles. Maybe also because the ant bear can gallop, and southern tamandua end up clumsily clomping around. Southern Tamanduas live both in trees and on the ground, and use their prehensile tail to grip tree branches, often at night. With poor vision and tiny eyes, they often spend their days nestled into trees, then venture out after dark to eat. Also a solitary animal, they've also got strong claws on their front legs that they can used to break open insect nests or defend themselves. When aggravated, per the Creatures of the World wiki, they communicate "by hissing and releasing an unpleasant scent from their anal glands." Noted. The oldest tamandua fossil dates from the Pleistocene of South America (2.5 million years ago to 11,700 years ago), though more recent genetic analysis suggest they may have split from the ant bear in the late Miocene — about 12.9 million years ago. Unlike the Northern Tamandua, they don't have a black fur vest; their colours can be solid or varied.

picture from the San Diego Zoo

  • Silky anteater, also known as the pygmy anteater, Cyclopes didactylus. This fully tree-dwelling species of extremely cute anteater is also the smallest; it grows to just 35cm (14 inches) and weighs 400 grams (14 ounces) It often lives in Ceiba trees, which have large seed pods that contain tufts of silky fibres. The seed pods provide an excellent camouflage for these anteaters, since they are almost identical in colour to the animal's fur. Being tree-dwelling, the silky anteater's predators include the harpy-eagle (another animal you should prepare yourself to learn about, because it's on my favourite list), hawks, and owls; the camo is crucial. The silky anteater is strictly insectivorous, and eats white ants (termites), ants, and sometimes beetles on a bad day. It will consume 100-8,000 ants per day, foraging through the treetops with its long sticky tongue. Biologists used to think all silkies were a single species, but a 2018 taxonomic review yielded more than seven different species of silky anteater. Again, ain't no way I'm getting into that today.

As its name suggests, the giant anteater (aka THE ANT BEAR!) is largest of these four.

Fun anteater facts

In addition to the species descriptions, I wanted to share some anteater facts for you on World Anteater Day:

  1. They don't just eat ants. Yes, their diet is primary ants, but they also eat termites, bees, and worms. And Tamandua may also eat some fruit. A giant anteater can eat up to 35,000 insects PER DAY, nosing around 200 nests per hour. We should make a new measurement type, npm (nests per hour), just for them.

  2. None of them have teeth. I suppose if you vacuum up insects all day, you don't need teeth, but I recently read that anteaters simply don't have any. Animals with no teeth are referred to as edentate. They're joined by sloths and armadillos in that category.

  3. Speaking of sloths... the closest relative to the anteater is the sloth! I had no idea, but I can see it! Anteaters do move faster, though.

  4. They've got a freakishly long tongue with spines on it. Their tongue can vary depending on the species, but a giant anteater's tongue can be up to 60cm (2 feet) long. All of their tongues are covered in tiny, backward-curving spines — and that super-sticky saliva. It can flick in and out of their mouth up to 160 times per minute (nearly three times per second).

  5. For all but silky anteaters, coarse helps. As their name suggests, the silky anteater's fur is smooth, but for the others: a thick fur keeps angry insects from biting (or stinging, in the case of bees!)

  6. They give birth standing up. Female anteaters deliver in an upright position, using their tail for support. They usually have only one baby at a time, and the baby will ride on their mothers' backs until able to forage alone.

  7. They've got a very robust sense of smell. Anteaters have poor eyesight, but make up with it via their giant schnoz, which is about 40 times more powerful than ours.

  8. Claws that pack a punch. As noted above, anteaters have long, sharp front claws — even those cute silkies — that they use against predators who attack them, and to break into ant and termite mounds. And they know how to fight; a video from a few years ago, for example, shows a stand off between a giant anteater and a jaguar.

  9. A bumbling walk. Given those long front claws, they walk on their knuckles like gorillas do, which is why they may seem more clumsy than they are. (Other than the Southern Tamandua, who is, in fact, just that clumsy.)

  10. Vulnerable species. Giant anteaters are the most threatened mammals in Central America, and are already considered extinct in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Uruguay.

That's all for today! I am firmly out of uptime, and thus this post must end.

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If you missed it CAE 55 is out now, with one of the more beautiful featured photos I've ever shared (in my opinion, at least!)

Thank you to all the paid Patreon members who support my work and allow me to volunteer my time for free to help advocate for patients. I'm glad you're all here, whether I'm writing about chronic illness — or the weird animals I love. ♥️

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating this coming week. And I hope you're all doing as well as possible.

-Jodi