---
title: "Giant Anteater Facts, Diet and Two-Foot Tongue"
description: "Learn how the giant anteater uses powerful claws, a tubular snout and a two-foot tongue to feed without teeth, plus where it lives."
canonical: "https://uglyanimals.net/animals/giant-anteater/"
locale: "en"
content_type: "animal_profile"
primary_entity: "Giant anteater"
scientific_name: "Myrmecophaga tridactyla"
---

# Giant anteater: facts, habitat and feeding without teeth

The giant anteater is a large Central and South American mammal with no teeth, a narrow tubular snout and an exceptionally long tongue. Its foreclaws open insect nests that its mouth could never chew through.

## Quick facts

- **Scientific name:** Myrmecophaga tridactyla
- **Animal type:** Toothless insect-eating mammal
- **Range:** Central and South America
- **Habitat:** Grasslands, wetlands, savannas and tropical forest
- **Diet:** Ants and termites
- **Distinctive feature:** Long toothless snout and tongue up to about two feet
- **IUCN status:** Vulnerable

## What is a giant anteater?

The giant anteater is the largest of the four living anteater species. It is a xenarthran, more closely related to sloths and armadillos than to bears or pigs.

A black shoulder stripe, long tail and small head make the body appear strangely balanced. Each part serves movement, insulation, defence or the specialised task of opening insect colonies.

## How does a giant anteater eat without teeth?

Powerful front claws tear a small opening in an ant or termite nest. The animal then inserts a tongue coated with sticky saliva, flicking it rapidly in and out before defensive insects overwhelm the feeding site.

It takes a limited number of insects from each colony and moves on. Visiting many nests spreads feeding pressure and reduces the time spent exposed to biting ants or termite soldiers.

## Why does it walk on its knuckles?

The foreclaws are valuable tools and weapons, so the anteater curls them inward and walks on the sides of its front feet. This keeps sharp tips from wearing against the ground.

When threatened, an anteater may rear up, balance with its tail and strike with its forelimbs. Its narrow mouth should not be mistaken for helplessness.

## Where do giant anteaters live?

Giant anteaters use open grassland, wetlands and forest mosaics. They need enough insect colonies and cover, and their daily activity can shift in areas with more people.

Habitat conversion, road collisions, fire, hunting and low reproductive rate contribute to decline. Large home ranges make connected landscapes particularly important.

## Conservation status: Vulnerable

Giant anteaters have disappeared from parts of their former range. Habitat loss, vehicle strikes, uncontrolled fire and low reproductive output make connected, safely managed landscapes important to recovery.

## Related animals

- [Aye-aye](https://uglyanimals.net/animals/aye-aye/)
- [Naked mole-rat](https://uglyanimals.net/animals/naked-mole-rat/)
- [Common warthog](https://uglyanimals.net/animals/warthog/)

[See more mammals](https://uglyanimals.net/animals/mammals/)

## Related habitats and adaptations

- **Habitat:** [Forests and river margins](https://uglyanimals.net/habitats/forests-river-margins/)
- **Habitat:** [Grasslands and open country](https://uglyanimals.net/habitats/grasslands-open-country/)
- **Adaptation:** [Noses and faces](https://uglyanimals.net/adaptations/noses-faces/)
- **Adaptation:** [Feeding tools](https://uglyanimals.net/adaptations/feeding-tools/)
- **Adaptation:** [Digging and burrowing](https://uglyanimals.net/adaptations/digging-burrowing/)
- **Adaptation:** [Flight and movement](https://uglyanimals.net/adaptations/flight-movement/)

## Sources

- [Smithsonian's National Zoo: Giant Anteater](https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giant-anteater): Anatomy, feeding, habitat, behaviour and conservation.
- [Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle: The Giant Anteater](https://www.mnhn.fr/en/the-giant-anteater): Taxonomic identity and diet overview.