Giant Anteater Pumpkin Enrichment
Today we’re Bringing the Zoo to You by talking about giant anteaters!
Giant anteaters have adapted to a unique lifestyle called myrmecophagy, meaning they primarily eat insects such as ants and termites! These animals have a simple stomach filled with stomach acid and use that stomach acid to break down the insect’s tough keratin exoskeletons. Giant anteaters can eat over 30,000 ants in a day! Once they find an insect mound, they’ll use their powerful claws to tear into the earth and use their tongue to slurp up the bugs!
Giant anteaters also eat fruits on more rare occasions, and our anteater Nico is demonstrating using his claws to dig into a pumpkin, which is an enriching treat!