A domestic anteater, a kind and quiet pet. Anteaters Anteater where it lives, what it eats and habits

sucked her face into the vacuum cleaner. But when you pay attention to the clubbed legs, you understand that this is an anteater. Nowadays it is fashionable to have wild animals at home, and some animals are very suitable for the role of pets, and this is our case. These cute animals have excellent character and intelligence.

Ant-eater

Characteristics of the anteater

They came to our apartments from America. The anteater has a very strong and prehensile tail, as it is used for climbing trees.

Animal characteristics:

• Body length – up to 65 cm without tail;
• The tail is approximately the same length as the body;
• Color – red, brown, gray, black, and their combinations;
• Life expectancy is up to 6 years.

But the length of the tongue is especially striking - up to 30 cm!

They need this kind of language wildlife, since they feed exclusively on ants and termites. Tearing the top of the anthill with powerful paws, they launch their tongue, which is covered with sticky mucus, into the passages. The tongue is very flexible, it penetrates into every passage, dragging hundreds of insects into the animal’s stomach. In a minute, the anteater manages to fire its tongue up to 160 times, eating tens of thousands of ants per day.

Anteater at home

The anteater became a pet quite recently, but has already managed to secure its reputation as a fairly intelligent and unpretentious pet. For example, it is not a problem for him to open the refrigerator and front door by the hand.

They get used to people very quickly, they love children and other pets very much, provided that they do not show aggression towards them. Although they are kind, they can stand up for themselves; one blow from a paw with huge sharp claws is not enough. But let us repeat: anteaters use force exclusively for defense; they themselves are not the first to attack.

A distinctive feature of the animal is its love to be cuddled, played with, and dressed up in clothes and jewelry, as in the photo below.

He will not kick or struggle, but will simply lie there and enjoy himself.

They also love to ride in cars, looking out the window with curiosity.

But there is also negative sides maintenance of their home - the furniture will suffer. Anteaters love to sharpen their claws on furniture and walls, and if a cat simply scratches it, it will render the anteater unusable. It will also require maintenance special diet, because it’s unlikely that you have hordes of ants and termites at home.

Animal diet

And 4 products can replace insects:

1. Chopped meat;
2. Chicken eggs;
3. Fruits.

The only thing is that food needs to be ground, since they have absolutely no teeth. Of course, don't forget to change the water every day. These animals are not prone to obesity, so overfeeding is unlikely.

Buying an anteater

You can buy an animal only in a specialized nursery. You shouldn’t even pay attention to the advertisements; these are most likely smuggled wild animals that may no longer be accustomed to home conditions. No one can guarantee that they are not sick and do not pose a threat to humans.

The price is very high - up to 6,000 US dollars. This is due to the inability of anteaters to breed offspring in captivity after the first generation. That is, if a breeder produces children from a couple, they will never become parents, and the next pair will have to be purchased in their homeland in America. But for lovers of exotic things at home, this is quite a livable sum.

And remember - we are responsible for those we have tamed!

Life of an anteater at home, video

A more unusual animal than ant-eater It's hard to imagine. Some believe this is a joke of nature. And in fact, he looks very exotic. The very first thing you notice when looking at an anteater is its long muzzle with a very small mouth. He also has a very long fluffy one, which from the outside looks like a broom. Interestingly, the length of the anteater's tongue can reach 60 cm. This is the longest tongue in the world!

There are only three types of anteaters: dwarf, giant, or four-toed.

They differ greatly from each other, primarily in size. The dwarf anteater is only 15-20 cm long and weighs about 400 grams. The giant anteater is simply huge, it can reach a length of 2 meters and weighs 30-35 kg, the tamandua is medium in size, approximately 50-60 cm in length and 3-4 kg in weight.

Anteaters belong to the order of edentates. This, in addition to them, also includes. These animals are completely different from each other.

You can meet an anteater only in the South and Central America.

Anteaters are nocturnal animals; during the day they sleep, curled up and covered. Small species climb trees, and the giant anteater sleeps right in the open area on the ground. He has no one to fear. Sometimes they try to attack him big cats, but he boldly defends himself with his long claws (up to 10 cm). Small anteaters can be attacked by boa constrictors, owls, and jaguars, but they also defend themselves with the help of their claws, so catching them is not so easy. And tamadua also emits an unpleasant odor, for which it was nicknamed “forest stink” in its homeland.

Living vacuum cleaners

Anteaters are sometimes called “living vacuum cleaners.” In fact, they are always in search of food and, with their huge tongues, suck up small insects that get in their way. They walk with their heads down, turning over driftwood and stones along the way, in search of food. Their sense of smell is very acute. And other senses are poorly developed.

In nature, anteaters feed exclusively on small insects, destroy termite mounds and anthills and lick ants and termites with their sticky, powerful tongue. Separately, it is necessary to say about the language of anteaters. It is very long and powerful, and can move at great speed (up to 160 times per minute). But the anteater has no teeth, so it can only eat small insects. His stomach is very strong, it seems to grind food, making up for the lack of teeth.

Anteaters live alone, very rarely meeting each other. Their mating season occurs twice a year. But they do not have any courtship. The female always gives birth to one baby, which immediately climbs onto her back and is very for a long time spends with her. There are often cases when a mother anteater carries a baby on her back, almost the same size as herself.

One of the most amazing and well-known to all lovers of animal flora is the anteater. This amazing mammal belongs to the order of edentates. Nowadays, anteaters are often raised as exotic pets, and the first owner of such an animal was the great world-famous artist Salvador Dali.

Description and characteristics

The anteater family includes two genera, three species and eleven subspecies, which differ in many respects. However, there are common features that are common to all species, including a very long tongue up to 60 cm long, a characteristic set of legs and a very strong tail that helps the animal climb trees.

The size of an adult animal may vary. Under natural conditions, males are larger than females. All anteaters have long, tube-shaped snouts, and have small, narrow mouth openings. The small size of the ears and eyes is also characteristic. The front five-fingered limbs have long and sharp, hooked claws. The hind legs have four or five toes with not too long claws. The whole body is covered Thick hair, which, depending on the species, can be short and soft or long and rough.

This is interesting! Distinctive feature anteater - a very long tongue, moistened with sticky and abundant saliva.

The hair coloring is quite contrasting. The color of the back varies from gray shade to a relatively bright, golden brown color. The abdominal area is most often yellowish or grayish-white. Four-toed anteaters have blackish stripes or a fairly large black spot on the body. The cranial bones are strong and elongated. Anteaters have no teeth, and their thin lower jaw is quite long and not powerful.

Natural habitat

Anteaters are widespread in Mexico, as well as in Central America, Brazil and Paraguay. As a rule, the animal's natural habitat is tropical forest zones, but some species are quite well adapted to open areas, savannas and coastal lines.

Anteater species differ in lifestyle, which is reflected in their physiological characteristics:

• terrestrial giant anteaters
• arboreal pygmy anteaters
• terrestrial arboreal four-toed anteaters

The animal is usually active at night or immediately after dusk. IN natural conditions The basis of food for the anteater are ants and termites, the nests of which are destroyed with the help of very powerful forepaws. Insects that have left their devastated home are collected using their sticky tongue and eaten with lightning speed. Somewhat less frequently, anteaters use bees and larvae of various beetles as food. To enhance digestion processes, anteaters are able to periodically swallow coarse sand, as well as fairly small pebbles. The not very well developed organs of vision and hearing are well compensated by an excellent sense of smell, which allows them to find food.

Types of anteaters

All types of mammals such as the anteater that inhabit rain forests, as well as water or swamp zones and savannas in the territory of Central and South America, are represented by terrestrial and tree species.

Ground-dwelling giant or large anteaters are the most major representatives , belonging to the order of edentates. Average length The body length of an adult can vary from one to almost one and a half meters. The length from the tip of the tail to the muzzle is almost three meters.

This is interesting! The body weight of an adult reaches 38-40 kg. The animal has a long and narrow muzzle, resembling a tube, small and narrow eyes, as well as a tongue abundantly moistened with sticky saliva, the length of which is 0.6 meters.

Such a large and massive animal is not capable of climbing trees and is exclusively terrestrial, predominantly night look life. The waking period, as a rule, takes only eight hours a day. When walking, the giant anteater characteristically bends its claws and rests on the ground with the back of its forelimbs. To protect against enemies, the front clawed paw is used, with the blow of which the animal is capable of inflicting severe injuries on its opponent.

This is the smallest representative of this family. The total body length rarely exceeds 0.4 m with a weight of no more than 350-400 grams The coloring of the anteater's fur is brownish, with an attractive golden tint. The soles of the paws and the tip of the nose are red. The muzzle of the dwarf anteater ends in a proboscis shape, which makes it convenient to eat insects. The complete absence of teeth is compensated by a long and very sticky tongue.

Characteristic feature of this kind is the presence of a very flexible and tenacious tail. It is the tail and front paws, which have elongated claws, that help the animal move easily and quickly enough through the trees, so the genus of dwarf anteaters belongs to the arboreal category.

This is interesting! A distinctive feature is their predominantly nocturnal lifestyle and habitation in tropical, multi-level forest zones. Pygmy anteaters are solitary animals, therefore they never gather in flocks.

The species is represented by the Mexican variety and the true four-toed anteater. The body of these animals is relatively average in size. The body length of a four-toed anteater does not exceed 55-90 centimeters, while the length of the tail can vary between 40-50 cm. The weight of an adult animal is approximately 4.5 kg. The average body length of the Mexican tamandua reaches 75 cm, with a tail length ranging from 40-70 cm.

The muzzle is elongated and curved. The eyes are small.

This is interesting! A characteristic feature is weakness of vision, which is compensated by excellent hearing.

The mouth part is small, and its diameter is sufficient to accommodate a long and sticky tongue. The tail is long and prehensile, without hair at the bottom and at the end. The forelimbs have four fingers with claws. There are five clawed toes on the hind limbs. Mexican tamanduas are distinguished by a strong odor secreted by the anal gland.

Reproduction in nature

Mating occurs once or twice a year, in spring period or spring and autumn. The duration of gestation varies among species, ranging from three months up to six months, after which a rather small and naked calf is born, independently climbing onto the back of its mother. Males also take a direct part in raising the younger generation and alternate with females to carry the baby on their backs.

The baby anteater spends a significant part of the time with its mother and father, and only from the age of one month does it gradually begin to a short time leaving their back to go down to the ground. Baby anteaters use a special mass of semi-digested insects for their food, which are regurgitated alternately by a male and a female.

Natural enemies of the anteater

If on large-sized, giant anteaters, in natural environment habitat, only adult jaguars hunt, then dwarf species of tropical animals are forced to beware even of large boa constrictors and birds of prey, including eagles. For self-defense, they use long claws, which they use, quickly turning over onto their backs.

When danger is detected, pygmy anteaters stand on their hind limbs, in a characteristic defensive stance, and hold their forelimbs with long claws in front of their muzzle. The tamandua species also has additional protection in the form of an unpleasant odor, thanks to which the local residents nicknamed the animal “forest stink.”

Anteaters can make nests in hollows in trees or in burrows dug by other tropical animals. Most often, the anteater is a solitary animal, but there are also real couples who live together for many years.

Anteaters are completely devoid of teeth, but this does not stop them from eating thirty thousand ants or termites in one day. The tropical animal swims beautifully and can easily overcome water surface even very large reservoirs and rivers.

On too large individuals of giant or large anteater Even wild cats, including the jaguar, do not risk attacking, and thanks to its powerful and clawed paws, the animal is capable of killing a relatively large predator with one blow.

In natural conditions, anteaters are quite peaceful and do not show aggression towards other animals, and average duration life is approximately a quarter of a century.

Anteaters are not kept at home very often, which is due to the fairly high cost of exotic animals and the need to provide it with the maximum comfortable conditions for stay. Tropical animal requires strict adherence temperature regime indoors at 24-26 o C.

Personality of the domestic anteater

This is interesting! A certain problem when keeping is the short life expectancy, rarely exceeding five years.

Among other things, the long claws on the forelimbs require periodic sharpening, so anteaters often render furniture and interior items in the room unusable.

Diet of the domestic anteater

Domesticated animals need to be provided with high-quality nutrition that can fully replace natural food. Minced meat, well-cooked rice, chicken or quail eggs as well as fruits.

Where to buy an anteater

IN last years anteaters have competed well with many domesticated wild animals, including snakes, ferrets, foxes, raccoons and iguanas. You need to purchase exotics from a specialized nursery, where the health of the pets is monitored. Average price of a young domestic anteater is 5-6 thousand $. Animals raised in captivity produce offspring only in the first generation, and then the resulting young are kind of sterile, therefore unable to bear offspring.

Domain: Eukaryotes

Kingdom: Animals

Type: Chordata

Class: Mammals

Squad: Partial teeth

Family: Anteaters

Distribution area

Anteaters can be found throughout Central America, as well as in the southeastern parts of Mexico. IN large quantities these species are represented in the forests of Venezuela and northern Argentina. Southern Brazil and Uruguay are also distinguished by the presence of anteaters.

The favorite places of these animals are forest edges and savannas, which are located no higher than 2000 m. Anteaters can also be found in close proximity to streams and rivers or on trees with a large number of vines.

Description of the large anteater

The anteater is a large land animal, about the size of a large dog. The length of the narrow slender body is from 1 to 1.3 m, the head is long, tube-shaped, the length of the tail is in the range from 0.65 to 0.9 m. The weight of adult individuals is 30-35 kg. The ears, mouth and eyes are small. No teeth. The tongue reaches 60 cm in length, narrow, sticky. The forelimbs are powerful, well adapted for digging, four-fingered, with claws up to 10 cm long on the second and third fingers. The hind limbs have five fingers. The anteater is brown in color, with dark wedge-shaped stripes that stretch from the throat and shoulders to the sides. The coat is hard, feels like straw, is very short on the head, on the back it forms a mane about 25 cm in length, the length of the coat on the tail reaches 40 cm.

Common types of anteater

The family of mammals of the order of edentate anteaters includes 2 genera, 3 species and 11 subspecies, which are common in Central and South America.

The giant anteater is the only representative of the genus Myrmecophaga. The genus four-toed anteaters or tamandua (Tamandua) includes the species Mexican tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) and tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla). The genus Cyclopes includes one species, the dwarf anteater (Cyclopes didactylus).

Mexican tamandua (Tamandua mexicana)

The body length of the animal is about 77 cm, the tail is from 40 to 67 cm in length. The muzzle is elongated, curved, the mouth is small, the tongue reaches 40 cm in length. The back has pronounced dark longitudinal stripes that expand towards the shoulders and cover the front legs, like a vest . The rest of the body is light, from white to brown. The anal gland of the Mexican tamandua secretes a secretion with an unpleasant odor, which is why the animal is called the “forest stink.”

The species' habitat includes Central America to southeastern Mexico, South America west of the Andes from Venezuela to northern Peru.

Tamandua or four-toed anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla)

Body length is from 54 to 88 cm, tail length is from 40 to 49 cm. Weight is 4-5 kg. The tip of the tail is bare. The front paws are four-toed, the hind paws are five-toed. The coat is short, hard and thick, bristling. In the southeast of their range, the animals have distinct dark stripes along their backs, which widen toward the shoulders and cover the front legs. Body color ranges from white to brown.

Distributed in South America east of the Andes, southern Colombia and from Venezuela through Brazil to northern Argentina. Lives in forests, on the edges and in savannas near bodies of water at altitudes up to 2000 m above sea level.

Dwarf or two-toed anteater (Cyclopes didactylus)

The smallest representative of anteaters with a body length of 36 to 45 cm (the length of the tail is about 18 cm), weight 270-400 g. The fur is brown with a golden tint, the soles of the feet and the tip of the nose are red. The muzzle ends with a short trunk. There are no teeth, the tongue is long and sticky. The tail is prehensile with a bare tip. The front paws are four-toed, and the hind paws have five toes.

The species is found in Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil and Paraguay. Local residents know the animal as “miko dorado”.

Lifestyle of anteaters

All species lead a solitary lifestyle. The giant anteater lives on the ground and feeds primarily during the day, although if disturbed by people it becomes nocturnal. Tamandua can be active at any time of the day; it is equally at home both on the ground and in the trees.

The dwarf species leads a completely arboreal lifestyle and is active mainly at night. All species can dig, climb and walk on the ground. However, the giant anteater rarely climbs, preferring to stay on the ground, while the dwarf anteater, on the contrary, is comfortable in trees and reluctantly descends to the ground.

Tamanduas make nests in tree hollows; giant ones dig small depressions in the ground in which they can rest for up to 15 hours a day. For camouflage, they cover their body with a huge shaggy tail. Pygmy anteaters usually sleep with their arms wrapped around a branch and their tail wrapped around their hind legs.

Individual sites of giant representatives of the family in places of abundance of food can be only 0.5 km2 in area. Such areas exist, for example, in tropical forests on Barro Colorado Island (Panama). But in places where there are not many ants and termites, one giant anteater may require up to 2.5 hectares.

Nutrition

Anteaters feed exclusively on insects and not all of them, but only the smallest species - ants and termites. This selectivity is due to the lack of teeth: since the anteater cannot chew food, it swallows insects whole, and in the stomach they are digested by very aggressive gastric juice.

In order for food to be digested faster, it must be small enough, so anteaters do not eat large insects. However, the anteater makes the work of its stomach easier by partially grinding or crushing insects against the hard palate at the moment of swallowing. Since the food of anteaters is small, they are forced to absorb it in large quantities, therefore they are in continuous search.

Anteaters move like living vacuum cleaners, tilting their heads to the ground and continuously sniffing out and drawing everything edible into their mouths (their sense of smell is very acute). Possessing disproportionately great strength, they noisily overturn snags, and if they encounter a termite mound on their way, they cause real destruction in it. With powerful claws anteaters destroy the termite mound and quickly lick the termites from the surface.

During the feast, the anteater's tongue moves at tremendous speed (up to 160 times per minute!), which is why it has such powerful muscles. Insects stick to the tongue thanks to sticky saliva, salivary glands also reach huge size and are attached to the sternum, like the tongue.

Reproduction

Mating in giant anteaters occurs twice a year - in spring and autumn, other species mate more often in autumn. Since anteaters live alone, there is rarely more than one male near one female, which is why marriage rituals these animals do not.

The male finds the female by smell; anteaters are silent and do not give special calling signals. Pregnancy lasts from 3-4 (for the dwarf) to 6 months (for the giant anteater). The female, standing, gives birth to one calf, rather small and naked, which independently climbs onto her back. From that moment on, she carries it on herself all the time, and the cub tenaciously clings to her back with its clawed paws. At the giant anteater little cub It is generally difficult to detect because it is buried in the mother's coarse fur.

Tamandua females often, while feeding on a tree, place the baby on some branch; after completing all her business, the mother takes the baby and goes down. Anteater cubs spend a long time with their mother: for the first month they remain on her back inseparably, then they begin to descend to the ground, but remain associated with the female for up to two years! It is not uncommon to see a female anteater carrying a “baby” almost equal in size to her on her back. Puberty different types reach in 1-2 years. Giant anteaters live up to 15 years, tamanduas - up to 9.

Enemies in nature

In nature, anteaters have few enemies. In general, only jaguars dare to attack large giant anteaters, but this animal has a weapon against predators - claws up to 10 cm long. In case of danger, the anteater falls on its back and begins to clumsily swing all four paws. The external absurdity of this behavior is deceptive; the anteater can cause severe wounds. Small species are more vulnerable; in addition to jaguars, large boas and eagles can attack them, but these animals also defend themselves with the help of their claws.

In addition to turning over on their back, they can sit on their tail and fight off with their paws, and the pygmy anteater does the same thing while hanging on its tail from a tree branch. And tamandua also uses an unpleasant odor as additional protection, for this local residents They even nicknamed him “the forest stink.”

Conservation in nature

Local residents rarely hunt anteaters for meat; Tamandua skins are used in artisanal tanning, but only insignificantly. However, the giant anteater has disappeared from much of its historical range in Central America due to habitat destruction and human activity. In South America, anteaters are often hunted for trophies by animal traders. In some parts of Peru and Brazil they were completely exterminated.

Tamandua is also persecuted - it defends itself effectively, so they hunt it for sport with dogs. Tamanduas often die under the wheels of cars. However, the most serious threat to these animals is habitat loss and the destruction of the few insect species on which they can feed.

Keeping an anteater at home

Keeping such a pet in your home is really very funny and exciting. A domestic anteater can easily do without its own cage and, believe me, you won’t offend it in any way, because who would be happy about being locked behind bars. When you have such a friend in the house, you should get used to it and accept the fact that this is, to some extent, almost like a small child.

So it would be a good idea to allocate a separate room for him, in which, by the way, you can lock him when you leave for work, since this craftsman can do such things in the house that you are unlikely to praise him.

Furniture most often suffers from such a friend from South America; like a cat, he strives to sharpen his claws on its upholstery, and he has quite large ones, so it is better that his walks around the apartment are carried out under someone’s careful supervision. In addition, by its nature, the anteater is a creature in no way deprived of intelligence, in this regard, it really loves to stick its long, curious little face into all the corners into which it crawls and not so much, in which case it also has paws.

If such an unpleasant situation has happened and this pretty tenant has already managed to do his own thing in the house, do not rush to scold him or, moreover, to educate him, using force. Firstly, you will scare him, and this can have quite a negative impact on your future relationships, because the animal may begin to perceive you no longer as a friend. Well, the second reason why you shouldn’t “attack” him is that although he is kind, he’s still wild animal. He himself will never start hunting you, but he is not used to giving himself offense, so you can easily get hit with a heavy, muscular paw, which is also armed with a long, sharp claw.

It’s not a problem to take such a pet for walks in the yard on a leash; it just needs to be accustomed to these devices. early childhood. For example, Salvador Dali kept such an unusual friend and walked around the city with him every day in search of inspiration.

This eccentric loves to be given attention, you can play with him, dress him, comb him, he will not run away or kick. The anteater will just calmly settle down, be happy and have fun.

At home, it is not necessary to catch tens of thousands of ants for him; he will be quite happy with such a treat as porridge with minced meat, preferably rice; you can also give him various fruits and eggs. Just don't forget that he doesn't have teeth - you'll have to grind your lunch thoroughly. But during a walk, you can calmly lead him to anthills, believe me, he will not get confused and will get to work, his instincts will take over in any case.

Since this exotic comes from warm countries, it must not be allowed to freeze, so fashionable clothes for an anteater are not only fun and beautiful, but also to some extent necessary. Also, during sleep, it should be covered with something warm.

The average cost of such an extraordinary pet ranges from 500,000 to 2,500,000 rubles.

• The giant anteater is rare species, which is listed in the International Red Book.
• The anteater's tongue works with amazing speed during feeding. The animal throws it out and pulls it back in up to 160 times per minute. Thanks to this speed, an adult anteater eats up to 30,000 ants per day!
• The length of the giant anteater's tongue reaches 61 cm, which is a record for any land animal.
• A typical voracious anteater can eat up to 30 thousand ants or termites in a day.
• Anteaters are not herd animals; they prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle, at most a family one. However, when in captivity they can play well with each other.
• Anteaters have a peaceful nature, which makes them amenable to domestication; they can get along well with more common pets: cats and dogs, and even love to play with children. True, keeping an anteater at home is not so easy, because they cannot stand the cold at all; the favorable temperature for them should be no lower than 24-26 C.
• Anteaters, among other things, are good swimmers and can easily swim across tropical bodies of water.

Video

Sources

https://o-prirode.ru/bolshoj-muraved/

Anteater is most amazing mammal, which belongs to the order of edentates. This animal lives not only in the wild - it can be perfect for the role of an exotic pet. Let's find out a little more about him.

Characteristics and description

Anteaters are divided into three species and eleven subspecies. Each of them has a long tongue and a strong tail. The length of the tongue is 60 centimeters, and thanks to its tail, this mammal can climb trees very well.

The anteater has some features - a long muzzle, small eyes and ears. The animal has five toes with long claws on its front paws, and smaller claws on its hind paws.

The fur of this mammal can be either long or short. He has no teeth, however, this does not stop him from eating 30 thousand insects a day. This animal knows how to swim well in ponds. The lifespan of this mammal is about 25 years.

Where does the anteater live?

Anteaters can be found in Mexico, Central America, Brazil and Paraguay. They usually live in tropical forests, but they can also be found in the savannah or other open areas.

These animals lead an active lifestyle at night. They feed on ants and termites, beetle larvae and bees. They get them using their long nose and sticky tongue, destroying their nests with its front paws. To make food digest faster, they eat a little sand or small pebbles.

This mammal has highly developed sense of smell, which cannot be said about his vision and hearing. Thanks to this sense of smell, he finds food for himself.

There are three types of these animals:

• arboreal dwarf;
• terrestrial giant;
• terrestrial-arboreal four-toed.

Ground giant anteater- this is the most close-up view. The length of its body reaches 150 centimeters. And the length of the entire animal, including the tail and muzzle, is about three meters.

This animal weighs about 40 kilograms. The muzzle of this species is long and narrow. Just like other anteaters, it has a sticky tongue, small eyes and ears.

Arboreal pygmy anteater- this is the most small view. The length of its body does not exceed 40 centimeters, and it weighs no more than 400 grams. The fur of this species is brown, and the muzzle, paws and nose have a red tint.

The muzzle is long, there are no teeth, but there is a sticky long tongue and a tenacious tail. Thanks to him and his front paws with long claws, he easily climbs trees. This is why it was nicknamed arboreal. This animal's lifestyle is only nocturnal. And he lives alone.

Four-toed arboreal anteater. This species is also called tamandua. The animal's limbs have only four fingers, which is why it is called four-fingered. The body length does not exceed 90 centimeters, and the tail length is about 50 centimeters. The weight of the animal reaches no more than five kilograms.

The muzzle is also elongated, the eyes and ears are small, and the tongue is very sticky. This animal's eyesight is poor, but its hearing is excellent. Distinctive feature species is an unpleasant odor that is distributed by the anal gland.

Reproduction and possible enemies

Mating in these animals occurs in spring or autumn. Pregnancy lasts from three to six months (depending on the species). Anteaters arrange their nests in trees or burrows. The cub is born very small and bald, but can independently climb onto its mother's back. The father also participates in raising his cub. He also carries it on his back.

When the cub turns one month old, he begins to climb off his mother or father’s back for a short time and actively explore the ground. To feed the baby, female or male regurgitate half-digested food- This is what the cub eats.

The main enemies of these animals are jaguars. And for dwarf species even predatory bird and boa constrictor are dangerous. Their long claws help them protect themselves from enemies. And the four-toed anteater uses a strong unpleasant odor as a defense.

If you decide to have this unique animal at home, then you need to purchase it from special nurseries. This is where you will buy a healthy animal. This mammal gets along well with other pets, as well as with children.

• the temperature in the house should not be lower than 24 degrees;
• To prevent your pet from damaging your furniture with its long and sharp claws, they must be sharpened in a timely manner;
• You can feed your domestic anteater boiled rice, minced meat, eggs and some fruits.

It is worth considering that In captivity the anteater lives very little. Its lifespan is no more than five years. Therefore, before you get such a mammal, think carefully.