Giant Ant Eater

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Uploaded by on Apr 26, 2009

Anteaters are edentate animals—they have no teeth. But their long tongues are more than sufficient to lap up the 35,000 ants and termites they swallow whole each day.

The anteater uses its sharp claws to tear an opening into an anthill and put its long snout and efficient tongue to work. But it has to eat quickly, flicking its tongue up to 160 times per minute. Ants fight back with painful stings, so an anteater may spend only a minute feasting on each mound. Anteaters never destroy a nest, preferring to return and feed again in the future.

These animals find their quarry not by sight—theirs is poor—but by smell.

Anteaters are found in Central and South America, where they prefer tropical forests and grasslands. There are four different species which vary greatly in size. The silky anteater is the size of a squirrel, while the giant anteater can reach 7 feet (2.1 meters) long from the tip of its snout to the end of its tail. Some anteaters, the tamandua and the silky anteater, ply their trade in the trees. They travel from branch to branch in search of tasty insects.

Anteaters are generally solitary animals. Females have a single offspring once a year, which can sometimes be seen riding on its mother's back.

Anteaters are not aggressive but they can be fierce. A cornered anteater will rear up on its hind legs, using its tail for balance, and lash out with dangerous claws. The giant anteater's claws are some four inches (ten centimeters) long, and the animal can fight off even a puma or jaguar.
Facts from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com

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Uploader Comments (MrBeaNsLuv)

  • haha awesome camera you have there!

  • seriously? Thanks!

  • ooooohhhh i love it :D

    Ive always like the Ant eater family but i ahve to say my favourite would be the Giant Anteater.

    Great vid nice in HD 5/5

  • Thanks so much!

Top Comments

  • "ewww he's pooping!!" LOL XD

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All Comments (23)

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  • Incredibly unique reature

  • why does it go to the water to poop lol seriously tho it must do that in the wild... anyone know why. does it live in the same area for long periods, and dosent want to dedicate where its home is

  • FUCK YOU FREAKS thats scary as FUCK

  • at first i thout it had 2 heads and 1 of theme was a skunk

  • OMG!

    It's Little Johnny! :o

  • What zoo is that at?

  • fucking kids

  • Theese are soooooooooooooo scary

  • these things give me the creeps

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