Four species of toothless mammals that eat ants and termites, related to sloths: the giant anteater, the silky anteater and two tamanduas. Pangolins, aardvarks and echidnas are sometimes called anteaters but aren’t related.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Insects only
Dangerous?Can be
Cornered, a giant anteater rears up and slashes with front claws strong enough to kill a jaguar.
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inSouth America, Central America
HabitatGrassland, Rainforest, Forest
ColoursGrey, Black, White
SizeMedium
Length35 cm (silky anteater) to 1.8 m (giant anteater, with tail)
Weight18–39 kg (giant anteater)
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for14–16 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Central and South America.
- What it eats
- Ants and termites, dug out with the front claws and collected with a long, sticky tongue.
Did you know
No teeth at all, and a tongue that flicks 150 times a minute.
The giant anteater’s sense of smell is about 40 times stronger than a human’s.
Often confused with
- Pangolin
Pangolins are sometimes called scaly anteaters, but they’re covered in scales and not closely related.
Compare side by side - Aardvark
The aardvark is sometimes called an anteater, but it isn’t related to the South American anteaters.
Compare side by side
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