Day 1 

Distribution  

continents found -Central and south america

invasive at all 

• no they are not invasive. 

social Structures 

Do they live in a pack or solo?

• they are solo 

Role within community?

• Ecologically, giant anteaters play an important role. Not only do they help control insect numbers, but they also may dig for water when there is none available on the surface.

Male or female led group?

• no one leads the group they are solitary. 

Individuals that make up the group?

• there's no individuals that make up the groups there on their  own. 

• How do they interact with each other? 

• They may offer hissing, snorting, roaring, and sniffing to communicate a variety of messages.

• aggressive interactions between males, and when mating.

Reproduction 

how often do giant anteaters mate? 

• Giant anteaters can breed as often as every 9 months, though it is often longer. Giant anteaters may breed year round, or seasonally depending on region.

How many mates do giant anteater have? 

• they typically mate with one partner at a time. 

Time of the year for mating?

• Between March and may is when they mate and that once throughout the year.

Mating rituals?

• During courtship, a male consorts with a female, following and sniffing her. Male and female pairs are known to feed at the same insect nest.While mating, the female lies on her side as the male crouches over her.

Number of offspring produces at a time?

• Giant anteaters can breed as often as every 9 months, though it is often longer. they give birth to a single young and suckle the offspring from a pair of mammary glands located on the chest. After birth, the young anteater climbs onto the mother's back where it stays for up to a year.

Any unique characteristic of their mating?

• Giant anteaters have a polygynous mating system, where one male mates with more than one female. Breeding depends on the region; they can breed either throughout the year or seasonally. Usually, the male and the female mate several times, remaining together for up to 3 days. 

 Development

stage of development 

•   Life for a giant anteater starts when a male and female participate in sexual reproduction, typically in the fall.  The egg is fertilized inside the female, and after a period of about 190 days, it gives birth, standing on its hind legs, to a well developed offspring.  The female gives birth only to one offspring at at time and no sets of twin baby giant anteaters have ever been recorded.

• Shortly after birth, the baby anteater uses its well developed front claws to climb onto its mothers back.  It will stay on its mothers back for a whole year, only getting down to nurse and eventually to feed on ants. 

How old before sexaul maturity?

• Anteaters are sexually mature in 2.5–4 years.

Activities and environment of stages?

• activites -They walk in a slow, shuffling gait but when necessary can gallop at over 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour). They can also climb and swim.  Environment - they have a low body temperature and slow moving body.

Difference between males and females?

• Males and females look exactly the same, with males being only slightly larger than females.

Competition

Inter- species- within the species 

• Silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) Northern (Tamandua mexicana) and southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla)

Intra - species - with other species

• Xenarthra is one of the basal placental superclades. Xenarthra is approximately 100 million years old and includes armadillos, anteaters, and sloth.

what do they compete over?

• just like there is competition for food among all living things, anteaters have their own share of competition. For example, anteaters compete with jaguars and people for insects. 

Affects of invasive species?

• none that was found

IUCN Rating 

what is the rating? 

• Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)

population- only  5,000

population trend -Overall the population of Giant Anteaters have significantly diminished in recent years and they are considered to be one of the most endangered mammals in South America.

Impact of Humans 

what impacts have occurred?

• the Giant anteater has suffered extensive population declines due to habitat loss, illegal hunting, and human –related impacts. 

potential future impacts?

• human hunters can be a future impact because they are will to kill them and kill them for there meat or trophy hunting.

• Some are also killed because they are mistakenly blamed in the killing of cattle and dogs. Anteaters are essential in maintaining insect populations.

How long have humans been interacting with species? 

• it doesn't say how long but they interact with giant anteater little human interactions that are active during the day and rest during the night.

Efforts being made to minimize impacts?

some efforts they are making are 

We’re funding Dr Arnaud Desbiez and his team to reduce the threat of roadkill to giant anteaters by finding out

• where most animals are killed – location hotspots will determine landscape or road characteristics that attract or deter giant anteaters to cross

• when giant anteaters are killed – if there’s a particular time of day and year, or if deaths are correlating with giant anteater seasonal movements or mating behaviours.

• Anteaters are highly specialized feeders and their diet can be challenging to replicate in zoos. Nutritional research is essential in developing diets that meet their nutritional needs and stimulate natural feeding behaviors.