{"id":8244,"date":"2026-04-28T16:52:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T15:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/?p=8244"},"modified":"2026-04-28T16:52:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T15:52:34","slug":"the-science-behind-how-anteaters-feed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/?p=8244","title":{"rendered":"The Science Behind How Anteaters Feed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The post <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/a-z-animals.com\/articles\/the-science-behind-how-anteaters-feed\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:The Science Behind How Anteaters Feed;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">The Science Behind How Anteaters Feed<\/a> appeared first on <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/a-z-animals.com?utm_campaign=feed&amp;utm_source=rss_feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_content=1567913\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:A-Z Animals;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">A-Z Animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Anteaters earned their name for a pretty obvious reason: their ant diet. Long specialized tongues enable them to grab multiple ants at one time. <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=siPKdUM0nhY\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:This YouTube video by Green Wire News;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">This YouTube video by Green Wire News<\/a> clearly shows an anteater\u2019s tongue scooping up its insect meal.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Giant anteater walking in the farm Wildlife Sanctuary \/ Myrmecophaga tridactyla\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"577\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/81B6AnwtAc.NAAuJGyowfg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU3NztjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/a_z_animals_articles_598\/ed301c1e594f11be3f508c7b59177b47\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">\n<p class=\"copyright\">\u00a9Bigc Studio\/Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Anteater Tongues<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/a-z-animals.com\/animals\/anteater\/?utm_campaign=feed&amp;utm_source=rss_feed&amp;utm_medium=in_content&amp;utm_content=1567913\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Anteaters;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Anteaters<\/a> are specifically adapted for eating ants and termites. A single giant anteater can consume roughly 30,000 insects in a single day, and they do so wisely. To make sure they have a constant food source, they consciously eat only a portion of any one colony, allowing it to recover. To eat many thousands of insects in a single day, they have special tongues unlike those of any other animal in the wild. As seen in the video above, their tongues measure about two feet long, which is longer than their own head! The tongue is covered in both sticky saliva and tiny hooks that they use to grab their prey. They flick their tongue out repeatedly, at about <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldanimalprotection.org.au\/education\/animal-facts\/anteaters\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:150 times per minute;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">150 times per minute<\/a>, using it like a living vacuum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Before feeding, anteaters first must find a colony of ants or termites. While they have poor eyesight, anteaters have an amazing sense of smell. After sniffing out an ant hill or termite mound, they use their curved claws to rip them open, snaking their long tongues through different tunnels in the mound. They lap up any ants or termites and swallow them whole; in fact, anteaters <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalzoo.si.edu\/animals\/giant-anteater\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:don\u2019t have teeth;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">don\u2019t have teeth<\/a>! Their stomachs are similar to grinding gizzards in birds. Anteaters may ingest sand and grit incidentally while feeding, which can help grind up their food in the stomach. Given how painful ant stings can be, it may sound like a dangerous food source. However, anteaters have thick fur coats that protect them. They truly are the most specialized hunters in the world!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The post <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/a-z-animals.com\/articles\/the-science-behind-how-anteaters-feed\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:The Science Behind How Anteaters Feed;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">The Science Behind How Anteaters Feed<\/a> appeared first on <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/a-z-animals.com?utm_campaign=feed&amp;utm_source=rss_feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_content=1567913\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:A-Z Animals;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">A-Z Animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The post The Science Behind How Anteaters Feed appeared first on A-Z Animals. Anteaters earned their name for a pretty obvious reason: their ant diet. Long specialized tongues enable them to grab multiple ants at one time. This YouTube video by Green Wire News clearly shows an anteater\u2019s tongue scooping up its insect meal. \u00a9Bigc [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[175,12727,12721,12723,12725,55,12571,388,10074,12729,282,332,269,2330,1990,119,12728,3815,12347,67,66,45,622,807,8743,12722,117,2023,10698,12726,47,5386,12724,41],"class_list":["post-8244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets-news","tag-animals","tag-anteater","tag-anteaters","tag-anteaters-feed","tag-ants","tag-appeared","tag-colony","tag-diet","tag-earned","tag-enable","tag-feed","tag-feeding","tag-food","tag-grab","tag-insects","tag-long","tag-mound","tag-multiple","tag-obvious","tag-pe-ts-fun","tag-pets-news","tag-post","tag-pretty","tag-reason","tag-science","tag-science-anteaters","tag-single","tag-source","tag-specialized","tag-termites","tag-time","tag-tongue","tag-tongues","tag-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}