Wildlife Wednesday - Tamanduas

We've talked about the biggest anteater species, the giant eater and the smallest, the silky anteater. Now for the last type of anteaters, the Tamandua.

_DSC5831 by Bird Brian, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License  by  Bird Brian

There are 2 kinds of Tamanduas, the Southern and the Northern.

Tamanduas are also referred to as “lesser anteaters” and Southern Tamanduas are often referred to as “collared anteaters.”
Sunshine international aquarium, Tokyo, by pelican, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License  by  pelican 
Tamanduas live in South America.
The Southern tamandua's vest like markings extend form their shoulder to their rump. The Northern tamandua's markings stop before their back legs, not extending into the rump area.
Tamandúa-mirim (Tamandua tetradactyla) by Sinara Conessa, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License  by  Sinara Conessa 

Tamanduas have an extra long claw on their third toe. They use it for defense and digging. They walk on the outside of their feet so as not to hurt themselves with their own claws.

The tamandua can eat up to 9000 bugs in a day. They also eat some fruit. 
Sunshine international aquarium, Tokyo, by pelican, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License  by  pelican 

Tamanduas have a prehensile tails. The underside of their tail has no hair.

Their tail is used for balance and climbing. They sometimes use their tail for a pillow. 
Parque Zoológico de São Paulo / Sao Pa by Deni Williams, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License  by  Deni Williams 
Tamandua can be quite smelly. When threatened they release a unpleasant odor to deter predators from a gland at the base of their tail.

Tamandua mouths are very small, about as wide as a pencil eraser.

We've now talked about all of the true anteaters. Echidnas, pangolins and aardvarks are often called anteaters but none of them are true anteaters. Which was your favorite of the anteaters? 
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