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Description
Body length: 1 - 1.9 m
(39 - 75 inches); weight: 22 - 39 kg (48 - 86 pounds). Upper parts
of body and chest grizzled grayish-brown; hairs banded black,
brown and white; wide black stripe bordered with white runs from
shoulder to chest and neck; crest of hair along middle of back,
longer towards tail. Fur thick, coarse, dull. Head elongated,
narrow, convex, with short, grizzled, stiff gray hair. Huge bushy
tail (almost 3 feet long), with plume of hair; not prehensile.
Forelegs white with black band at wrist; elbows with fringe of
long hair; forefeet with three very large curved claws and two
smaller claws; hind feet with five short claws. Walks on knuckles.
Teeth absent.
Habitat
Rare in rainforest; more
common in wet and dry grasslands where ant mounds common.
Niche
Nocturnal and diurnal;
completely terrestrial; solitary. Feeds on ants licked from nests
or torn from tunnels with claws. Travels extensively, feeding
on a few ants each from many nests. Usually amble, but can run
rapidly. Depend on sharp sense of smell to locate prey. Sleeps
on ground in open or sheltered spot. If attacked, may be dangerous
because of sharp claws and powerful forearms.
Life History
The single offspring rides
on the mother's back; it must crawl up to her back since the mother
has no teeth or fingers to lift it up.
Status
CITES Appendix II (may
be threatened unless trade is regulated); extinct in part of range;
rare. Wantonly killed or captured. Presence of viable populations
in Central America not known.
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