Anteater is the name of a group of mammals that lack teeth and feed mostly on ants and termites. The largest and best-known species (kind) of anteater is the giant anteater. It lives in tropical forests and grassy plains from Panama to Argentina. The animal has become rare in some areas as human settlers push into its range.
The giant anteater has a tube-shaped head with a long, slender snout. Its coarse, brittle hair is mostly gray and forms a bushy mass on the tail and sides. A black band of hair bordered by white bands runs from the throat to the middle of the back. Some giant anteaters grow over 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length, including a tail measuring about 3 feet (0.9 meter).
The giant anteater lives on the ground. It walks with its front feet turned on their sides to protect the claws. When feeding, the animal uses the large second and third claws of its front foot to rip open ant nests. It then flits its tongue, which is about 2 feet (60 centimeters) long, into the nest in rapid in-and-out movements to lick up the ants.
A female giant anteater gives birth to one baby each year. The newborn rides on the mother’s back for up to a year.
Two species of anteaters are called tamanduas, or collared anteaters. Both live in tropical forests and grassy plains. The northern tamandua is found from southern Mexico to Peru. The southern tamandua lives only in South America. Tamanduas can live both in trees and on the ground. They use their hairless, prehensile (grasping) tail for climbing. Tamanduas have short, stiff, tan to brown hair. Some have darker hair around the neck and on other areas of the body. The animals can reach more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length.
The squirrel-sized silky anteater resembles a small tamandua but is covered with soft, golden-yellow or gray fur. This anteater can grow about 20 inches (50 centimeters) long. It lives in trees in the tropical forests of southern Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Aardvarks, pangolins, and echidnas are also sometimes called anteaters. These animals feed on termites and ants and have other characteristics in common with anteaters, but they belong to different orders (scientific groups).
