Giant anteater tails are essential to the species’ survival, according to a thorough study of how the animals use their distinctive bushy appendages.
Researchers spent over 260 hours observing giant anteaters in the Brazilian Cerrado – a huge savanna in the centre of the country – and identified 11 separate functions of their tails.
Protective and caring uses were highlighted as key adaptations to help the animals face an uncertain future.
How giant anteaters use their tails
Observations confirmed that the animals moved their tails side to side for stability as they walked, and employed them as effective counterweights when standing on their hind legs to forage. Mammalian tails are commonly used for balance, but scientists suspected the giant anteaters’ carried even greater importance.
The shaggy mass of coarse hair was also used as protection from predators as either a camouflage disguise or to signal the giant anteater’s vigilance.
Vegetation is sparse on the Brazilian Cerrado and temperatures can range from freezing point at night to exceed 40C in the day. Adults of both sexes were seen ‘swishing’ their tail like a fan, or using it as a blanket, folded over the body during sleep to conserve body heat. “This posture is a great adaptive strategy as it helps the anteater avoid detection by predators, as well as conserve energy in fluctuating temperatures, a challenge that will only grow with climate change,” says lead author Dr Alessandra Bertassoni from the Wild Animal Conservation Institute (ICAS) and the Federal University of Goiás in Brazil.
The female’s tail is described as “essential for the pup’s development” as mothers use their tails to shade pups from the sun, hide them from threats and transport them in the first few months while their own tail grows.
The tail was also recorded signalling a mother’s readiness to give pups a ride, or provide a safe nestling spot. Scientists suggest such close physical contact builds a social bond, fundamental for the vulnerable pups which are cared for by their mother for at least the first year of their life.
The striking tails with their bold black and white horizontal stripes earn the animals the nickname tamanduá bandera (flag-anteater) locally. Despite this recognition, they are under significant threat from human activities including deforestation, habitat degradation and fragmentation.
The study, published in the Journal of Ethology, was undertaken as part of a project by ICAS in Brazil to monitor giant anteaters in human-altered landscapes, particularly the impact of the growing road network.
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