Our Lost Giant Anteaters

They are running around Panama & Colombia and often seen in Nicaragua & Honduras. Yet Costa Rica is no longer home to the amazing Giant Anteater. It is locally extinct and absent from our country, not officially sighted since 1984. This sad fact seems to make no sense given Costa Rica’s stellar wildlife & nature management record. But there are reasons for why this animal no longer calls Costa Rica home. And there is hope for the future!

👀 A STRANGE GIANT

The Giant Anteater stands out for its large body, long tapered snout, and distinctive bushy tail. Its striking features make it one of the most recognizable mammals in its native range. Adults measure between 182 and 217 cm (72 to 85 in) in total length. Males typically weigh 33 to 50 kg (73 to 110 lb), and females are slightly smaller, making this Anteater the largest living species in its suborder.

Its head, about 30 cm (12 in) long, is notably stretched—even compared to other anteaters. The cylindrical snout dominates the face, while the eyes, ears, and mouth remain small and understated. Though its vision is poor, the Giant Anteater compensates with an extraordinary sense of smell. Their smell is estimated to be 40 times more powerful than that of a human.

Locally, the animal is known as oso hormiguero gigante or ‘Giant Ant-Eating Bear’. It may also be simply referred to as oso hormiguero, but that term is also applicable to two other anteater species present in Costa Rica.

⛔ WHAT DROVE THE GIANT ANTEATER OUT OF COSTA RICA?

Costa Rica prides herself on having a world-class record of environmental stewardship. Yet the Giant Anteater lives on both sides of our border, but no longer survives within Costa Rica itself. What are the reasons for this?

Traffic Collisions

As Costa Rica reversed its deforestation trends and improved the quality of life, it became famous. The beautiful beaches, stunning landscapes and plentiful wildlife made it a haven for eco tourism. Plus the country stands out as an oasis of stability within the often turbulent Central American region. Prosperity flowed to the locals and with prosperity come bigger homes, cars, and healthy appetites.

All of these benefits brought tourists and general internal development. And set up a chain of events that would drive the Giant Anteater away from Costa Rica. With development came new roads & traffic, and the Giant Anteaters are especially vulnerable to vehicles:

🐌Slow movement: Anteaters walk with a deliberate, lumbering gait. They simply can’t outrun or dodge fast-moving vehicles.

🦯Poor vision and hearing: Giant anteaters have poor vision and limited hearing, making them highly vulnerable to vehicle collisions on busy roads.

🌘Nocturnal habits: The animals are most active at night or dawn, when low visibility makes them harder for drivers to detect.

👀Non-reflective eyes: Unlike some animals, their eyes don’t shine in headlights, making them harder to detect in the dark.

With new roads and improvement of existing ones, the increased speed & traffic caused the Anteaters to suffer. Costa Rica’s rapid growth fragmented forests and disrupted wildlife corridors. And the animals now had to cross busy roads to reach isolated habitats.

Habitat Loss & Fragmentation

As above, rapid development in the 20th century led to significant habitat loss and fragmentation. The anteaters had to contend with shrinking forests & open foraging areas. Increasingly, the animal needed to cross busy roads to reach isolated habitat patches. Developers cleared pristine forests & open grasslands, converting them into palm oil and pineapple plantations. Roads and airports fractured vital wildlife corridors. Housing developments and urban sprawl encroached on virgin habitats. New tourist developments invaded wild & untouched lands.

The Anteaters could not cope with these pressures and permanently retreated from their shrinking Costa Rican ranges.

Hunting & Killing

The Anteaters were (and may still be) considered dangerous and thus marked for death. Their defensive stance includes swiveling onto their hind legs while striking with their claws. The claws are super sharp & powerful, evolved to tear apart tough termite nests. Even jaguars and pumas know better than to engage an angered Giant Anteater. This maneuver is especially deadly to dogs which target the Anteaters for harassment – as dogs would do. So the resulting dog deaths have given the poor animal a bad reputation, and put a target on its head.

The Giant Anteater does not hold the cultural benefit of jaguars or sloths. People didn’t treat it as a revered animal. Hunters pursued it freely—for sport or food, even though the meat offered little appeal. They also killed them to protect the hunting dogs. Farmers shot it out of fear. Some shot it for its unusual fur.

Fires

Wildfires are especially devastating to anteaters in general. Several factors make these critters very vulnerable to the flames:

• 🐌 Slow movement: Anteaters aren’t fast runners, making it hard for them to escape fast-moving flames.
• 🧥Dense fur: Their shaggy coats can catch fire easily, and they struggle with extreme heat.
• 🌳Dependence on forest cover: They rely on shade and shelter to regulate body temperature, so when trees burn, they lose critical habitat.
• 🚸Orphaning risk: Fires often separate young anteaters from their mothers. Many are found alone on roads, dehydrated or injured.

Shifting climate patterns and intentional farm waste burning have increased fire risks across anteater habitats. These fires often spread rapidly and escape control, placing Giant Anteaters and their smaller relatives directly in harm’s way. Rescue centers treat burn injuries and care for orphaned anteaters displaced by the flames. As awareness grows, more communities discourage farm fires and adopt safer land management practices.

🐜 A VERY SPECIALIZED FEEDER

Giant anteaters possess one of the most specialized feeding systems in the mammalian world. Their elongated snout houses a narrow jaw with no teeth, perfectly adapted for their insectivorous diet. Instead of chewing, they rely on a long, sticky tongue—up to 60 cm in length—that flicks in and out up to 150 times per minute to lap up ants and termites.

Their sense of smell is remarkably acute, estimated to be 40 times more powerful than a human’s, allowing them to locate insect colonies with precision. Once a nest is found, they use powerful foreclaws to tear it open, feeding quickly to avoid aggressive ant defenses. Interestingly, they never destroy a colony entirely, preferring to revisit it later, which reflects a kind of ecological restraint. This combination of anatomical adaptation and behavioral finesse makes the giant anteater a master of its niche.

👀 WHAT’S WITH THE TAIL?

• 🔥 Thermal Blanket: When sleeping, the anteater curls up and drapes its tail over its body like a cozy blanket. This helps conserve body heat, especially during cooler mornings or in shaded forest areas.
• 🤫 Camouflage: The tail’s shaggy texture and coloration blend with leaf litter and underbrush, helping the anteater stay hidden from predators while resting.
• 🤺 Balance & Defense: If threatened, the anteater can rear up on its hind legs, using its tail for balance while it defends itself with powerful claws. This posture—sometimes called the “anteater hug”—can even deter big cats like jaguars.
• 🚜 Behavioral Adaptability: Recent field studies show the tail plays a role in behavioral plasticity, helping anteaters adapt to fragmented habitats and changing climates.

🍼 BABIES

Giant Anteaters are solitary creatures with a quiet, seasonal mating ritual, typically occurring in spring and autumn. Males locate receptive females through scent, and after a brief courtship, they part ways. Following a gestation of about 190 days, the female gives birth to a single pup while standing upright.

The newborn, already marked with adult-like stripes for camouflage, immediately climbs onto its mother’s back, where it remains for six to nine months, blending seamlessly with her fur. The pup nurses for two to six months and becomes independent around two years of age, or earlier if the mother conceives again.

🤞🏼 THERE IS HOPE!

Although no one has officially sighted the critter in over 40 years, hope still lingers. Some evidence suggests the Giant Anteater might still roam Costa Rica. For example, in 2000, researchers discovered a footprint in Corcovado National Park. Subsequently, a trail camera captured an image of the animal—though unfortunately, the evidence later disappeared. Nevertheless, while there have been no credible sightings since then, a small isolated population may still survive.

The continued re-wilding and re-forestation of Costa Rica is slowly re-crating her patched-up habitats. Giant Anteaters need large swaths of uninterrupted forests and grasslands. Even the relatively big Corcovado NP and Osa Peninsula may not be large enough to sustain a population. That is why wildlife corridors are so important – and Costa Rica is making excellent efforts in connecting protected areas that cover over 25% of her landmass. One day, maybe sooner than we think, the Giant Anteater may once again roam Costa Rica’s forests and savannahs!

Silky Anteater (Pygmy Anteater)

The pygmy anteater, also known as the silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus), is a small, nocturnal mammal found in Costa Rica’s lowland rainforests. It weighs less than 500 grams and has a prehensile tail for climbing. This species feeds primarily on ants and termites and is arboreal, spending most of its life in trees. Its small size, effective camouflage, and nocturnal behavior make sightings uncommon.

Northern Tamandua (Collared Anteater)

The Northern Tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) lives throughout Costa Rica’s dry and wet forests and grows to medium size. It weighs between 4 and 7 kilograms and displays a distinctive black vest-like marking across its shoulders and back. This species is semi-arboreal, relying on strong claws and a prehensile tail to climb trees while foraging for ants and termites. It tends to be solitary and may remain active during either day or night, depending on local conditions. Consequently, visitors and locals frequently encounter Northern Tamanduas in national parks, protected areas, and even front lawns. They appear commonly across a wide range of habitats.

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Cover Image c/o Fernando Flores, wikicommons.