Most animals are messy eaters, but not the anteater. He’s about as tidy as they come. Anteaters eat –you guessed it—ants. They never destroy ant hills, but carefully take off the top portion of the hill. Then they stick their long snouts into the ant hills and lap up thousands of ants with their sticky tongues.
Anteaters have to work quickly because those ants have stings that hurt. Anteaters spend just a minute or two in an ant hill before moving on. Because they don’t destroy the ant hills, they can come back for another snack later. Now that’s smart thinking!
Fun Facts about Anteaters for Kids
- Ant eaters live in Central and South America.
- There are four species of anteaters.
- Silky anteaters are the size of a squirrel; giant anteaters can be 7 feet long.
- Anteaters are “edentate,” which means they have no teeth.
- Mama anteaters usually have one baby each year. Sometimes the babies go for a ride on mama’s back.
Anteater Vocabulary
- Tidy: Neat
- Destroy: Ruin, break
- Snout: Long nose
- Edentate: No teeth
Learn More All About Anteaters
Watch this interesting video about anteaters:
A video documentary about an anteater’s life and the uses of its claws.
Anteater Q&A
Question: How long is an anteater’s tongue?
Answer: An anteater’s tongue is about 2 feet long and very thin. It looks like a long piece of spaghetti.
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Question: Are anteaters dangerous?
Answer: They are peaceful animals, but they rear up and fight against their enemies, jaguars and pumas.
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