Anteater Facts

- The anteater belongs to an order of mammals (along with armadillos and sloths) with small brains and few, or no teeth.

- Anteaters have extra backbone joints that helps strengthen their lower back and hips, which are useful for digging.

- The sticky tongue of an anteater is covered in tiny backward-pointing spines and saliva, which allows them to consume thousands of insects in a single day.

- Anteaters feed on insects like ants and termites.

- Anteaters use their excellent sense of smell to detect their food.

- The giant anteater is a subspecies of anteater that can grow up to 4 feet (excluding the tail) in length.

- Giant anteaters can consume over 30,000 insects, plus their eggs and larvae, in a single day.

- The giant anteater’s tongue can be nearly 2 feet long.

- The giant anteater’s tongue can be flicked in and out of the anteater’s mouth up to 150 times a minute.

- It is estimated that there are only 5,000 giant anteaters in the wild, and only 90 giant anteaters in zoos across the United States.

About the Author
Jacob Maddox manages content for Wildlife Animals http://www.wildlife-animals.com an educational wildlife and animal website. Jacob also guest writes for Dog Pound http://www.dog-pound.net