EnglishWhile walking through the forests of Central America, it’s common to come across a curious creature or two. But few are as confusing as the northern tamandua. This is an anteater that’s mostly nocturnal, but diurnal as well. It is terrestrial but spends the majority of its time in the trees. It has an abnormally long tongue, but not a single tooth. It’s also distinct from its closest cousin, the southern tamandua.
The northern tamandua clearly lives by its own rules. It’s a mammal that doesn’t get much attention from conservation groups—especially since the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorized it as a species of least concern.
However, it’s crucial to note that these findings were published back in 2013—and a lot can change over a decade. Over the years, grassroots organizations like Paso Pacifico have watched the slow decay of the animal’s habitat play out in real time. In this article, we’ll learn more about this unique anteater and how we can help the species thrive.
What Is a Northern Tamandua?
The northern tamandua, or Tamandua mexicana, is categorized as a “lesser anteater.” This is appropriate considering it’s more petite than its cousin, the giant anteater, which can grow up to eight feet. By contrast, the northern tamandua has a body ranging from 18 to 30 inches—about the size of a standard pillow.
On all fours, the tamandua is 9 to 15 inches tall, and 8 to 12 inches wide. Its prehensile tail alone is between 16 to 26 inches. The anteater also weighs less than the average watermelon—between 7 and 12 lbs. A healthy tamandua lives for about 7 to 9.5 years.
What They Look Like
This anteater has a distinct appearance. Its yellowish fur is marked by black accents over its shoulder and back—which come together to resemble a vest. Its mouth is about as wide as a pen, while its tail has a bald patch to help it navigate through the canopy.
The mammal’s claws are long and sharp—allowing it to dig deep for food, grip branches, and tear through tough tree barks with ease. While useful, these claws make traversing through land hard for the anteater. The northern tamandua often walks on the sides of its hands to keep its claws from sinking into the ground.
To identify a northern tamandua, it’s crucial to note that it isn’t the same as its southern counterpart. While both seem similar at first, you can differentiate northern tamandua vs southern tamandua by examining their:
- Location: Southern tamanduas live entirely in South America, from Brazil to Argentina. Northern tamanduas live across Central and South America. There is no overlap between their two habitats.
- Size: Many features of the northern tamandua are smaller than its southern counterpart—including its ears, eyes, ears, and mouth.
- Color: While the northern tamandua has a distinct black vest on its tan fur, southern anteaters may or may not have any black fur.
What Do Northern Tamanduas Eat?
As you might imagine, the anteater predominantly eats ants and termites. Its sticky tongue is covered with little barbs that help collect these insects. The appendage is so effective that a medium-sized tamandua can eat up to 9,000 ants a day.
A 2011 study, however, found that the animal also supplements this protein-rich diet with the occasional palm fruit. Still, since it’s an “obligate carnivore,” it relies entirely on insects for survival.
The tamandua’s powerful sense of smell allows it to not only seek out anthills and termite colonies but also differentiate between toxic insects and easy meals.
The northern tamanduas’ habitat has a rich ant population. But, on a less positive note, major parts of its home are under threat from deforestation and degradation, making survival a challenge for the anteater and several other species.
Where Do Lesser Anteaters Live?
The northern tamandua are native to Central and South America. It’s found in the forests of southern Mexico as well as in northwestern Peru. Along the way, it calls large parts of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama home.
This region is known for its different types of forests, swamps, and grassland—all of which the anteater thrives in. Part of this adaptability is because of the animal’s diverse characteristics. While it spends most of its day in the trees, it also walks on land (albeit clumsily), crosses rivers, and swims adeptly.
What Threatens Northern Tamandua?
The northern tamandua is an inoffensive animal. It survives on a diet of pests, keeps mostly to itself, and is highly adaptable.
However, there are still some threats it must look out for, including:
Predators
Jaguars, snakes, ocelots, and large eagles all hunt and eat northern tamandua. But don’t be mistaken, these anteaters are far from pushovers. In fact, they have evolved strong defense mechanisms that help them survive a range of threats.
- They stink: Northern tamanduas, like skunks, emit a strong smell that isn’t palatable for humans or animals. This helps them avoid becoming someone else’s meal.
- They’re strong: When threatened, a northern tamandua stands on its hind legs, hisses, and prepares to fight back with its strong forearms and sharp claws.
Human Activity
In some regions, especially in Ecuador, Tamandua mexicana is hunted by locals who believe that the animal attacks domestic dogs. The animals are also killed for fur and food by certain tribes in the region.
Because of a lack of legal protection, the anteater is sold as an “exotic pet.” It goes without saying that this is a terrible idea.
Many tamandua don’t survive the journey out of the forests and into homes. Even if they do, they need a lot of care—and the smell is too much to bear. Tamandua can also be aggressive, especially when they perceive a threat.
In fact, if you encounter a northern tamandua in the wild, your best bet is to back off carefully, without making any sudden movements, and hope they don’t notice you.
Habitat Loss
The biggest threat to this species—and other fauna of Central America is rapid habitat loss. Large chunks of forest land are lost every year to urban development and agricultural land. This doesn’t just shrink the tamandua’s home, it creates fragmented islands that isolate species from one another.
Since Central America is home to 5% to 12% of the world’s biodiversity, this habitat loss is a problem with grave implications.
Protecting the Northern Tamandua
Though the northern tamandua is resilient, it still needs protection. Its foul stench and drab colors may prevent it from becoming a target for poachers, but a lack of awareness, loss of habitat, and poorly defined legal policies keep it from being fully safe.
Meanwhile, there are no official figures on how many northern tamandua are left.
So, how do you protect something you can’t measure? At Paso Pacifico, we believe the only way is to tackle the root of the problem.
For nearly 20 years, our team has focused on conservation efforts in the forests of Nicaragua, El Salvador, and along large parts of the Pacific coast. We’re building wildlife corridors to help reduce fragmentation, and are devising multiple community awareness programs to enlist the support of locals.
But this is, of course, just an oversimplification of what really goes on behind the scenes. If you want to learn more about our project, or how you can contribute, don’t hesitate to reach out to Paso Pacifico today.