Giant Anteater
The giant anteater is a large, toothless creature. It
feeds primarily on ants and termites, hence its name. These animals are active
during both the day and night, in many parts of Amazonia. Although they have no
teeth, they have no problem hunting down their favorite pray. They have large,
strong claws that help them dig up anthills and termite colonies. Their claws
are so large, in fact, that they must walk on the sides of their feet. These
mammals, which weigh an average of seventy pounds, and are an average of three
hundred centimeters long, also have long tongues that are covered with sticky
saliva. They insert their tongues into the openings of anthills and scoop up
several ants at a time, swallowing them whole. Although these animals live all
over South America, their lands are being severely reduced by loggers.