The two pups can be seen clinging to their mother’s back in Iberá Wetlands, north-east Argentina.
Camera trap footage has captured two baby giant anteaters clinging to their mother’s back at Iberá Wetlands in Argentina – the country’s first-ever recorded sighting of giant anteater twins.
In Argentina’s neighbouring country Brazil, there has been just one recorded occurrence of twin pups, highlighting the rarity of multiple offspring in this charismatic mammal.
Giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) were reintroduced to Iberá in 2007 by Tompkins Conservation and Rewilding Argentina amid concerns the species could become nationally extinct.
More than 100 anteaters orphaned by poachers or car accidents were released. Today, the million-acre wetland habitat has a stable population. The two pups filmed on camera traps in the wetland reserve are the latest additions to the ever-growing population.
Why are giant anteater twins so rare? The leading theory is workload. The mother spends months carrying her offspring on her back. This is hard going with just one pup, which weighs 1-2 kilograms when born but quickly puts on weight. Imagine lugging two around!
Giant anteaters play an important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. They are insectivorous, feeding on large amounts of ants and termites, which helps control insect populations.
They usually use their long tongues to feed, but aren’t shy of a bit of digging with their large claws either – this creates accidental watering holes that can benefit many other species.
Researchers at Tompkins Conservation and Rewilding Argentina say they that the giant anteater reintroduction has taught them a lot about working with larger and more challenging species.
Video and main image credit: Beth Wald with footage from Rewilding Argentina
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