Giant anteater: habitat, interesting facts, photo

Nature has created many amazing animals, but the one that will be discussed in the article is in the forefront of this list. A giant three-toed anteater, whose photo is in front of you, is listed in the Red Book of the IUCN. This is a large animal with a narrow snout like a snout, a long tongue and a luxurious thick coat. His lifestyle in the natural environment is as amazing as the exterior.

Giant anteater: photo, description

As already mentioned, the appearance of a three-fingered fauna representative is very unusual. Giant anteater - the largest predator of South America. The length of his body reaches 1.30 m with a weight of 40 kg. A meter long fluffy tail is added to the length. Limbs do not allow the predator to move quickly, but they are armed with powerful claws (1-7 cm).

The size of the head is small, but the muzzle is extremely elongated (25-30% of body length) and narrow. The beast can not practically open its mouth because the jaws are joined together. At the end of the muzzle-tube are nostrils and a tiny mouth. Zubov does not have an anteater. The language is 55-60 cm long and has a very powerful musculature.

The wool of a three-toed handsome man is thick, stiff and extraordinarily elastic. The muzzle is almost without hair, towards the body it is becoming longer, turning into a three-dimensional mane located along the ridge. There are the same magnificent crochets on the paws.

The tail is the pride of the anteater! It is covered with long hair (60 cm). This beauty hangs down to the earth itself. With such a tail the animal can easily hide, like a warm blanket. Most often the color of the fur of the giant anteater is silvery, with a gray tinge, sometimes the color of cocoa is encountered. Through the whole body diagonally, from chest to rump, there is a wide black band. The lower part of the tail, underbelly and head is black-brown in color.

Habitat

Giant anteater is from South America. The last millions of years, representatives of this species live in sparse forests and shrub savannah. The "home" of these animals is the territory from the Gran Chaco in Argentina to Costa Rica in Central America.

Lifestyle in the wild

Animal anteater is quite peaceful, the main thing is its not to be angry or threatened. For days on end, he's only doing what he does to find nests and termites to eat insects. Other predators try to bypass this unwieldy lover of shit. From danger, he does not run away, but turns to the enemy, stands on his hind legs and concludes in "mortal embrace", launching into his body his sharp huge claws. The first anteater never attacks. Domestic anteaters can not be called, and they do not have a home. Throughout their life they roam, moving from place to place, and do not equip their lair. They prefer living in open and semi-open areas.

A large anteater is a terrestrial animal, climbing trees not in its habits and possibilities. In the daytime these predators like to sleep, rest in a secluded place, and at night they are active. Quickly walk, and even more so the anteater can not run - it is hindered by claws. To somehow move around, the beast bends them.

What does the anteater eat?

The giant anteater is mainly fed by ants, this is immediately clear from the name of the animal. The menu of the amazing predator includes caterpillars, termites, centipedes, lice, larvae of insects. If the pet food can not be obtained, the animal enjoys the pleasure of eating berries.

Observe how the anteater trapeznichaet near the ants pile, very funny. First, with his claws, he makes a hole in the house of insects. Then he thrust a thin, long, sticky tongue into it. The beast penetrates them into all the nooks of the anthill, where hundreds of insects are glued to the tongue. Interestingly, in captivity, these animals adapt easily to more diverse foods. They eat with appetite fruits, meat, eggs in boiled form and even milk. Only before feeding the food must be crushed, and the meat is ground for minced meat, because the anteater has a very small mouth. Big pieces, he just does not push into it.

Marriage period

A giant anteater refers to beasts that roam one by one. Couples, of course, meet, but not the male and female, but the mother, who grows her cub. Only when the mating season occurs, which occurs annually in the spring and autumn, the anteaters meet to conceive offspring.

Having fulfilled his duty by fertilizing the female, the male proudly withdraws, returning to his lonely life of the eternal wanderer. The female will have to be nursed for about six months, and then take care of it herself.

Care for the offspring

The anteaters multiply very slowly, because in one litter there is only one small calf. He is born with covered hair, the weight of a newborn baby is about 1.4-1.8 kg. The maternal instinct of the female is extremely strong: she dedicates herself to her offspring all her life. Not having time to grow one cub, the female already cares for another.

When a baby anteater is born, it almost immediately takes place on the back of the mother. From this moment the cub thus travels with her. When you look at this small family, you do not even notice at once that the calf is sitting on the back of the female, so its fur is merged with the mother's fur. At the age of one month a small fluffy predator is able to move independently. On the back of his mother he no longer skates, but walks after her literally on his heels. This continues until the young aardvark is two years old. Only at this age does the animal become independent and can do without the care of the mother.

Giant anteater: interesting facts

Specialists studying the world of anteaters managed to learn about these animals many interesting facts:

• Predator language works with a unique speed. For a minute the giant anteater throws out and retracts it about 150-160 times.
• The length of the tongue is about 60 cm, which has no analogues among terrestrial inhabitants.
• During the day the anteater is able to eat about 30,000 insects.
• The muscles that control the tongue are attached to the sternum.
• Anteater's teeth are in his stomach, which is extremely muscular. On its walls is a solid, horny pavement.
• Insects get into the stomach of the animal alive, and back to get rid of them horny thorns in the sky and creases on the cheeks.

Anteater and man

The aborigines of South America at all times hunted giant anteaters for meat. But the number of these animals inexorably declined not only for this reason. The fact is that they depend on the specific sources of their habitual food. Their natural habitats were destroyed, and as a result of such human activities, the sight of these amazing predators was on the verge of extinction. To meet the giant aardvark in the wild is becoming increasingly difficult. It is sad to note the fact that in zoos their numbers are also insignificant, while that in captivity these predators perfectly take root. Only by creating favorable conditions for the survival of anteaters, people will be able to help that such unusual creatures of nature will regain their numbers again, and they will not be threatened with extinction.