| type | Status | Habitat |
 |
 |
 |
|
MAMMAL |
THREATENED |
SOUTH AMERICA |
 Anteater habitats include dry tropical forests, rainforests, grasslands, and savannas. |
 In addition to ants and termites, anteaters also eat soft-bodied grubs |
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The anteater is a shy, timid mammal that will typically avoid human interaction. When threatened, the anteater has been known to seriously injure, and the giant anteater has even kill humans with its sharp, four-inch claws.Anteaters are edentate, which means they have no teeth.
The anteater's tongue can flick 160 times per minute. Anteaters need to eat fast to avoid painful stings from its prey. Despite the Anteater's given name, this mammal will gladly dine on ants, termites, bees, and occasionally the sweet honey of a hive. An anteater must eat thousands of insects each day to meet his dietary needs - that's about 35,000 insects each day - but it's no problem for this unique creature.
The anteater is native to South and Central America, but has been known to roam from northern Argentina to Honduras. The anteater once lived in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize, Uruguay, and the Andes - in fact, archaeologists have found fossil remains of the anteater as far north as Sonora, Mexico - but due to the loss of natural resources, they no longer reside in these areas of the world.