This week’s picture is of Giant Anteaters at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The “little one” is still riding on his mom’s back, even if he is not so little any more :-). The young male weighs already over 30 pounds. He was born on April 24, 2011. Tiana and Mochila reside in the Giant Anteater (off-exhibit) breeding facility at the Nashville Zoo.
Enjoy the picture!
About Giant Anteaters:
The Giant Anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, is the largest species of anteater. It is found in Central and South America from Honduras to northern Argentina. It is a solitary animal, found in many habitats, including grasslands, forests and rainforests. It feeds mainly on ants and termites, sometimes up to 30,000 insects in a single day.
The giant anteater is one of few mammals without any teeth. An anteater crushes insects it consumes using hard growths found on the inside of its mouth. They have an average body temperature of 32.7C, which is one of the lowest of all land-living mammals. It grows to a size of up to 7 feet (2.1 m) in length. It weighs from 65 to 140 pounds (29 to 64 kg).
It bears a single offspring after a gestation period of 190 days, which will stay near the mother until she becomes pregnant again. The baby spends much of the first part of its life riding on its mother’s back, until it is nearly half her size. Females give birth standing up and the newborn anteater immediately climbs onto her back. Young are born with a
full coat of hair and adult-like markings.
More Giant Anteater Pictures at www.sperka.biz/anteater