Giant Anteaters Illustration © Bruce Pearson

Giant Anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla

The Giant Anteater, as its name suggests, is the largest of the 4 species of anteaters and can weigh up to 23 kg (50 lb) and can measure up to 240 cm in overall length. All anteaters are insectivorous and Giant Anteaters have a long tube-shaped nose, with a tiny mouth and a long, sticky tongue. They use their strong front claws to open termite hills and also for defence; when walking their claws are tucked under and they walk on their knuckles. They live in forests and open plains and are active by day and night depending on weather conditions. Male and females are alike in appearence; females give birth to a single young which may continue to ride around on its mother's back for up to a year (well after the weaning stage).

The range of the Giant anteater once extended from the South of Mexico to North West Argentina, but numbers have declined throughout most of its range resulting in scattered, isolated populations. The main threats to the Giant Anteater is habitat loss by agricultural encroachment and fires.

The Giant Anteater is classified as Near Threatened by IUCN (See IUCN Red List of Threatened Species for more information on the classification of the Giant Anteater).

Help Protect the Giant Anteater and Other Wildlife

The World Land Trust's projects help protect Giant Anteaters and other threatened wildlife in the following habitats:

• Dry Chaco, Chaco-Pantanal and Atlantic Rainforest in Paraguay;
• Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil;
• Atlantic Rainforest in Argentina.

Help protect these habitats by supporting WLT projects.

More Information about Giant Anteaters and Their Habitat

• Read more about WLT's work in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay
• Find more information on the Giant Anteater on ARKive: Images of life on Earth