|
Range and Habitat: Argentina, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela. Found in wet and dry forests in the Amazon basin at elevations up to 6,500 feet. This includes tropical rainforests, savannas and thorn scrub, usually near streams and rivers.
Habits and Adaptations: The tamandua is nocturnal and solitary. It is thought to nest in hollow tree trunks or in the burrows of other animals during the day. It spends 13 to 64% of the time in trees. The tamandua is clumsy on the ground compared to its relative, the giant anteater.
When aggravated, it may hiss and release an unpleasant scent from the anal gland. The southern tamandua uses its powerful forearms in self-defense. If it is threatened in a tree, it grasps a branch with its hind feet and tail, leaving the arms and long, curved claws free for combat. If attacked on the ground, it will back up against a rock or tree and grab its opponent with its forearms.
Diet: Diet in the wild is ants, termites, bees and their honey. They can consume up to 9,000 ants per day. It gets its prey by using its strong fore limbs to rip open nests and lick up the insects with its long snout and tongue. It locates its prey by scent and avoids eating ants that are armed with strong chemical defenses, such as army ants and leaf-eating ants.
Breeding and Maturation: Mating generally takes place in the fall and usually one young is born in the spring after a gestation of about 130 to 150 days. At birth its coat varies from white to black. The baby rides on the mother’s back for a period of time and is sometimes deposited on a safe branch while the mother forages. Maximum lifespan recorded in captivity is 9 ½ years.
|