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Our huge planet, of course, does not belong to the human species alone. It is inhabited by colorful, magnificent flowers and trees, impresses with a variety of sea and river inhabitants, large and small birds. And it always surprises with how unusual the animal world is. Among the most unique and unusual animals is the anteater.
Description of appearance
This animal is a mammal, belongs to the order of the toothed. It is such a dry description that you can find in any encyclopedia. But in reality it is an incredibly interesting beast, and the perception of an ordinary person has not yet been completely used to it. Mostly the anteater lives in the forests and shrouds of America - its central and southern parts.
The most active anteater conducts its activities at night, and during the day prefers to sleep, hiding with its own tail and curled into a cozy lump. Small-sized animals usually climb high on trees to avoid encounters with predators, while large and giant animals easily lay for sleeping right on the surface of the earth. They are not worried about meeting their enemies, since a large anteater has muscular and strong legs up to ten centimeters long, which end with sharp claws for protection.
Outwardly, the animal looks very specific and peculiar. Strong limbs, a small, rather elongated head, small eyes and ears. But the muzzle of this animal is elongated, pointed, at the end of which there is a tiny mouth in which there are no teeth.
Despite the fact that this animal does not have teeth, by nature it has a strong and elongated tongue, which is longer than the same organ in a giraffe and even an elephant. The width of the tongue of the anteater does not exceed one centimeter, and the length reaches 60 cm. In addition, due to the glands that secrete saliva, the tongue is wetted and becomes extremely tenacious and sticky.
It is noteworthy that this strong organ can move at an extraordinary speed - the anteater can make them move up to 150 times in a minute. The palate of this beast is covered with horny fine bristles, which allows it to easily scrape small insects adhering to it from the tongue.
The anteater has a very muscular stomach, which he processes the food he received with the help of sand and tiny pebbles. The animal deliberately swallows such a specific mixture. The diet of the anteater includes mainly termites and ants. However, the anteater is not a finicky animal. If he does not manage to find the anthill, he will calmly eat small insects, worms, and sometimes ordinary berries.
This species is divided into a large (or giant) anteater, whose body length can exceed 120 cm, on the average - 70 cm, and the dwarf - not more than 55 cm.
Giant anteater
This animal is the largest among representatives of this species. What is only one of its tail, which is longer than one meter in length. On the forelimbs of the animal there are four fingers on which frightening huge claws are located. It is just the claws that give this characteristic the gait of this animal - it is forced to twist them by stepping on its paw, and the anteater leans while stepping on the outer part of its wrist.
Thus, the anteater can run badly enough. Rather, this beast fearlessly engages in battle with the enemy, rather than take flight.In order to frighten the predator that attacked him, the anteater stands in a “fighting” stance - rises to his hind limbs and frightens heaving his forepaws anteriorly. With his claws, he can cause a lot of problems to his enemies.
He has a rather hard coat, in different parts of his body the coat is different in length. In the neck and head, it is rather short, the body is covered with medium-long hair, and on the tail it is as long as possible - up to 40-50 cm. The habitat of the large anteater falls only in the south of America. He prefers to choose places to live that are remote from human settlements. There he can actively conduct life activities both day and night. If the animal has to make a home near people, then it leaves its shelter only at night.
Using its massive claws crowned with claws, the animal can easily stir and punch anthills, slow down termite mounds. In such anteaters, the mating season begins in the spring and autumn. After mating, the female produces one baby, whose weight is approximately one and a half kilograms. The gestation period lasts up to six months, but the anteater becomes independent by the age of a couple of years. Until this age, he lives with his mother.
Medium Anteater (Tamandua)
This is a special kind of such animals, because they have five fingers on their hind limbs. Mostly, this anteater lives on the trunks and branches of trees, because even with its tail its length can hardly reach one meter.
Despite the outward resemblance to his giant fellow, the tamandua is half the size of him. The main difference between them is the size and tail. In the middle anteater, the tail is quite thick, powerful, and helps it easily and freely move through trees.
In the tamandua, which lives in the southeast, the coat is usually yellow-white, on the back the coat is black, the muzzle is also black, and there are rings around the eyes. His cubs, however, only by the age of two acquire the color of a mature individual, and up to this point all are covered with yellow-white hair.
Representatives of this species that live in the northwestern part, on the contrary, are painted in the same color - dark brown, dirty white or completely black.
This animal prefers to populate the same areas where the giant anteater lives, but in general its habitat is slightly wider, reaching the territory of Peru. Usually lives in forests, on small edges or bushes. It can be placed on an overnight stay not only on the surface of the earth, but also on tree trunks.
Before going to bed, the anteater grabs its tail for the selected strong branch, then folds into a lump and covers its face with its large paws. For food, tamandua usually preys for ants, in particular those that live in trees. It is noteworthy that at the time of intense anxiety and excitement, this animal begins to emit an extremely specific and unpleasant odor.
Silk Anteater (Dwarf)
This species of anteater is completely different from its larger counterpart. The size of his body is unlikely to reach 40 centimeters, and this is tailored. This animal also has an elongated muzzle and a powerful strong tail, which allows it to inhabit trees, practically not descending to the surface of the earth. The coat of the animal gives a golden hue, silky to the touch, which formed the basis for the name of the subspecies.
Despite its compact dimensions, this animal is not afraid, prefers to fight with its enemies, meeting them with a warrior stance. To attack and strike, the anteater uses its powerful legs with sharp claws.Despite this, he has a lot of rivals in the natural environment who are not averse to feasting on him, so the anteater prefers to be active at night and practically does not descend to the earth's surface.
In these animals, the male and female converge only during the mating season, when they begin to mate, and then raise offspring born to the world. After the baby is born and dwells in the hollow of the tree for the first days, it sits on the back of the male or female.
Both parents are equally attentive, sensitive and caring to their baby.
Features of Nambat or Marsupial Anteater
Also, the so-called marsupial anteater deserves special attention. This extraordinary animal belongs to the order of marsupial predators. The habitat of this beast is in Australia. Those animals that live in the west of this continent have a back decorated with thin stripes of black, and the anteaters living in the east are painted in the same color. This is a rather tiny animal, whose body length almost reaches 25-27 centimeters, and the mass does not exceed half a kilogram. Along with other representatives of the species, the muzzle of the nambat is elongated, its shape is sharp, the tongue is elongated and quite thin.
The marsupial anteater has the main difference from other counterparts in the teeth, and there are a lot of them. Surprisingly, he is one of the most toothy predatory animals - a nambat can have up to 52 teeth. However, they are not of the best quality, small, weak and randomly located. But the eyes and ears are quite large, sharp claws are located on the paws.
It is curious enough that, by definition, this anteater can not be called marsupial, since it does not have a bag as such. An unusual feature is that several cubs produced by a female in the light can tenaciously stick to her nipples, and then hang on her mother in this way. No other animal on the planet can boast of such a skill.
Anteater as a domestic beast
Of course, your pet should be treated carefully, without manifestation of aggression. Otherwise, the animal will have to defend. In order to ensure that its dangerous claws do not cause inconvenience and injury to its owner, experts advise cutting them twice a week.
Keeping an anteater at home is quite difficult, it turns into serious chores. He needs to provide all conditions, organize an aviary, in which there will be many swings, various hammocks, ropes. It should not be forgotten that the anteater is gentle enough, so the temperature in the room should not fall below 25 degrees Celsius. Inhabited at home, the anteater will gladly eat various vegetables, dairy products, minced meat, fruits and cheese. But it’s better not to offer sweets to them, this could turn out to be harmful for them.
Video: Anteater (Myrmecophagidae)
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