Preamble:
Hello everyone, recently an article titled "Have you ever seen an animal like this? The Most Wonderful Anteater, the King of the Prairie" has been wildly reposted on the Internet, making this strange animal, the great anteater, the focus of attention again.
Perhaps the name "Great Aneater" is not unfamiliar to many people, but very few people really know it. The great anteater is a very different animal, both in terms of appearance and habits, and it is because of this difference that it is not only voted one of the "ugliest animals".
Next, I will lead you to understand this amazing animal from a new perspective, and I believe that through my introduction, I will definitely give you a different understanding of the "great anteater". Next, please take your time and look down.
1. The special appearance of the large anteater
The Great Anteater, as the name suggests, naturally feeds on ants, and it is a large anteater and the largest in the anteater family.
In terms of appearance, the head of the large anteater takes on an elongated strip and has a strange color overall, which makes its head look even more odd.
Unlike other animals, the mouth and nose of the large anteater grow together, and they can also be stretched very long, which makes it easier to catch ants.
And its mouth, instead of having sharp teeth as we imagined, is replaced by a very flexible tongue, as long as this tongue is extended, it can stick termites firmly to it, and then through the contraction of the tongue, the termites are sent into its mouth.
On the body of the great anteater, the most impressive thing is its forelimbs, so at a glance, it is almost the same as the head of a panda, the resemblance is very high, I have to say, the creativity of nature is really breathtaking.
Some netizens joked, "No wonder the forelimbs of the big anteater look exactly like the panda, it must be imitating the shape of the panda, so that others can't tell where its real head is, so that it can better protect itself." ”
Perhaps, this is just a joke, but it does give us some thoughts, why the forelimbs of the great anteater are so special, perhaps, it is just that it has changed its forelimbs in order to survive better, in order to confuse its opponents and protect its real head.
2. The unique habits of the great anteater
In addition to its strange appearance, the great anteater is also very distinctive in terms of living habits, which is impressive.
First of all, the great anteater is a very aggressive eater, and it has a soft spot for termites, which is why it has the word "antbeast" in its name.
It is understood that the large anteater can eat nearly 30,000 termites a day, which seems to be a large number, but for it, it is just a small fight.
In order to better catch termites, the large anteater has a very sensitive sense of smell, and only needs to sniff lightly to quickly lock the location of termites, and then launch a crazy attack.
Unlike other anteaters, large anteaters do not eat the entire colony when they catch termites, but leave a small number of ants, which can better protect the reproduction of the ant species.
The small number of termites left by the big anteater can also be considered a kind of "food storage", and the next time it is hungry again, it can come back again and continue to catch termites, so that it can always enjoy fresh termites.
This special habit is also very rare in the entire animal kingdom, and it is precisely because of this habit that the great anteater has a unique "ant raising" skill.
In addition, the great anteater is very different from each other, and that is its gentle temperament.
Perhaps, many people would think that the great anteater may be a very ferocious animal, and it will attack anyone it sees, but this is not the case.
In many cases, it has been observed that the great anteater will hardly take the initiative to attack when facing other beasts or humans, on the contrary, it will be taboo and try to avoid humans to avoid conflicts with humans, which can be said to be a relatively gentle animal.
Of course, this does not mean that the anteater will always hold back, and when it feels threatened or infested by other animals, it will also take some counter-actions to protect itself.
At this time, it will stand up its upper body, and then use its own hook and claw to counterattack, so to speak, "attack instead of defense", and it also has a very special "counterattack weapon" - a peculiar whistle, this whistle can frighten other large predators, and even hunters, so that they are deterred, can be said to be very unique.
3. Breeding and reproduction of large anteaters
Of course, as a creature, reproduction is also very important, and for the great anteater, its reproduction is also full of various "knowledge".
First of all, there is no strict time requirement for the great anteater to reproduce, and it is possible for it to reproduce regardless of the time of year.
Generally speaking, when a female anteater is pregnant, the gestation period will be relatively long, about 190 days, and she will only give birth to one cub each time she is pregnant.
When a cub is born, it quickly climbs onto its mother's back, then grows on its mother's back, and follows her mother all the way to feed and live all the way until it grows into adulthood.
In the process of breeding and reproducing the big anteater, there are also various dangers, its habitat has suffered great damage, coupled with human hunting, so that its living space is getting smaller and smaller, and the population is also declining sharply.
Therefore, in order to better protect these rare animals and protect our ecological environment, I hope that the majority of friends can take action together to protect these animals and build a beautiful home together.