Anteater

Anteaters are mammals with long snouts and tongues. They live in Central and South America, eating ants and termites with their sticky tongues and sharp claws. Anteaters are quirky, lovable creatures. From long noses to sticky tongues, these facts will make you an anteater expert in no time! Ready to join Albert as he explores amazing anteater facts for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners? Click on the images to hear silly sounds and then read about fun anteater facts like what do anteaters look like?, what sound do anteaters make?, how big are anteaters?, what do anteaters eat?, where do anteaters live?, and more fun facts about anteaters!

What do anteaters look like?

Anteaters are mammals which means that they are warm-blooded, have fur and they feed milk to their babies.

They are quite strange-looking animals. They have a long, thin snout or nose. This looks a bit like a tube stuck on the end of a long head! They also have a very bushy tail and long claws on its front feet.

There are different types or species of anteaters. The Giant Anteater has silvery-gray fur and a black sash across its chest and shoulders.

What sound do anteaters make?

Click the the image to hear the sound!

Anteaters don’t usually make any noise but if they’re scared, they sometimes bellow.

How big are anteaters?

Giant anteaters can grow up to 8 feet (2.5 meters) long. That’s as long as 2 park benches side by side.

The Silky anteater is only about a foot (30 centimeters) long.

What do anteaters eat?

As their name suggests, anteaters love to eat ants. A lot of ants! They use their powerful claws to dig up ant nests.

They have very long tongues to help them lap up 35,000 ants and termites a day!

Their tongues can be 2 feet long and are very sticky. This makes the ants stick to them so they can gobble them up.

Anteaters can flick their tongues in and out of their mouths 150 times a minute! How many times can you flick your tongue in and out in a minute?

Where do anteaters live?

Anteaters like to live nears their favorite food, ants. So, they live in forests, grasslands and savannah.

More fun facts about anteaters for kids

The southern tamandua is a type of anteater which has a prehensile tail. That means it can cling onto branches and hang upside down by its tail like a monkey.
Some anteaters smell really bad! If they are scared, they can squirt a smell from their tail! It’s very stinky, a bit like a skunk.
When we eat, we have acid in our tummies to help break down our food. Anteaters don’t have this acid. Instead they use the acid produced by the ants that they eat.
As well as having sticky saliva that covers their tongues, anteaters also have tiny hooks on their tongues. Imagine having a hooks on your tongue! This helps the ants stick.
Anteaters don’t have any teeth, so they squish the ants against the roof of their mouths before swallowing them.
Baby anteaters drink their mother’s milk for about 6 months. Their mother gives them a piggyback for up to a year!
A group of anteaters is called a parade.
Anteaters must eat their ants very quickly so that they don’t get stung. They have thick fur to protect them from ant stings too.

Sources: Wikipedia, Live Science, Creative Commons, Britannica.com and Freesound.org