Species Fact Profile: Southern Tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla)

                                                                Southern Tamandua

                                           Tamandua tetradactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range:  Northern and Central South America east of the Andes Mountains, from northern Venezuela south to northern Argentina and Uruguay.  Also occurs on Trinidad and Tobago

Habitat: Forest, Rainforest, Grassland, Scrub, Mangrove.  Most common near water, especially in areas with lots of thick vines and lianas.  Occur at elevations up to 2000 meters

Diet: Termites, Ants, Bees

Social Grouping: Solitary, Territorial

Reproduction: Breeding takes place in the fall, with females capable of having multiple estrus cycles per breeding season.  Estrus cycle is 42 days.  A single offspring (twins are rare) is born after a pregnancy of 130-150 days.   Infants remain with their mother for the first year of life, spending the first few months riding on the back of their mother (sometimes left hidden in a tree while the mother forages)

Lifespan: 20 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern.  CITES Appendix II (Brazil only)

• Body length is 53-80 centimeters, with an additional 40-59 centimeters of prehensile tail.  The underside of the tail is naked to provide a better grip when climbing.  Weigh about 4.5 kilograms.  The snout is long and curved, with a small opening about a centimeter wide
• Fur is short and dense.  Coat color may be brown or blond.  Some individuals have bold, dark markings over the shoulders and the back (sometimes called the collared anteater).  Infant coat color varies from white to black. 
• Foraging either on the ground or in trees.  Avoids ants with strong chemical defenses, such as leafcutter ants and army ants.   Nests are broken open using the large claws on the strong forearms.  Prey is extracted using the 40 centimeter long tongue.  The animal is toothless, but insects are ground up by the muscular gizzard in their stomachs.  Captives have been known to be partial to fruit and honey as well. 
• Some Amazonian Indians have been known to use tamanduas for pest control, introducing them to their homes to control the numbers of ants and termites
• The eyes are very small and weak, and the vision is believed to be poor.  Hearing is considered to be much more important
• May be active by day or by night, using hollow trees or abandoned burrows for shelter
• When stressed or threatened, they will hiss and emit a foul-smelling odor from their anal glands.  If pressed, they will stand upright and lash out with their powerful claws.  If attacked on the ground, they will back up against a rock or tree trunk, and then face the enemy.  To keep from injuring themselves with their claws, they walk on the outside of their hands
• Four subspecies are generally recognized (the nominate, T. t. nigra, T. t. quichua, and T. t. straminea). Animals from the northern part of the range tend to be lighter in color with longer, narrower skulls; southern populations tend to have darker vests of fur.  Replaced to the northwest by the northern tamandua, Tamandua mexicana
•     Widespread but locally uncommon.  No major threats.  Tolerant of some habitat disturbance.  Vulnerable to car collisions.  Sometimes hunted for meat, killed by domestic dogs, or sold on pet trade.  Sometimes persecuted by local people who fear that the tamanduas will kill their dogs.  Also hunted for the thick tendons in their tail, which can be used to make ropes, skin for leather