Archie, the anteater of mysterious origin, clings to his mother. Photograph courtesy LEO Zoological Conservation Center
Archie, the anteater of mysterious origin, clings to his mother. Photograph courtesy LEO Zoological Conservation Center
Virginia Zoo in Norfolk opens anteater exhibit
NORFOLK
Visitors to the Virginia Zoo can now see tamanduas.
So what is a tamandua?
According to a news release, tamanduas are a species of anteater from South America that inhabits both forests and savanna. They are nocturnal creatures that nest in hollow tree trunks or in the abandoned burrows of other animals. Adult tamandua can range from 28 to 62 inches long and weigh from 3 to 19 pounds.
Oh yeah, and they smell. They have a gland at the base of their tail -- think skunk -- that can release a very unpleasant odor to deter predators, the release said.
The Zoo has two tamanduas: a male named Felipito and a female named Grace. Their habitat is in the Zoo’s Exhibit Building.
“Tamanduas are really exotic-looking and the kids love them,” Greg Bockheim, the Zoo’s executive director, said in a prepared statement. “Felipito is really interactive and can often be seen at the habitat’s window, checking out his human visitors.”
Tamanduas feed on ants, termites and bees, the release said. They have long claws they use to break into insect nests, as well as to defend themselves from predators.
While Amazonian natives sometimes use tamanduas to rid their homes of ants and termites, the release joked that the Zoo has no plans to rent out its tamanduas for residential pest control.
Can’t they just do a DNA testing? And I thought that the parthanogensis thingie (sp?) only produced females. Oh, and Archie is adorable.
This has no connection to humans, but since everything is a symbol in this country, the feminazis will grab it and rejoice - finally, a world without men!
I’m still trying to figure out how the Male Anteater can even eat it’s offspring ... must be one heck of a tongue.
TT
Parthenogenesis. That's what I said it was. TA-DA.
