World Of Animals - Ant Eaters!

                  AMAZING ANT EATERS                  

“Do animals get all the diseases of human beings?”

- My patient owners used to ask me. They are always surprised to hear my answer.

Yes animals do get all the diseases of human beings. Cold to Cardiac problems, Diarrhea to Diabetics, Simple toothache to Sexually transmitted   diseases- Yes everything but except one disease!  

Surprised… Animals never get Leprosy !  Only one animal is the exception, the one  gets leprosy too …

Yes, the poor  Ant Eaters!
But, you should note that all these problems started only when men started owning these animals - yes, consequence of domestication! Mostly animals in wild are free from most of these diseases.

I remember, once a young Indian forest veterinarian had to administer a liquid medicine to an ant eater. He called me to get an idea as he was puzzled, how the animal would cooperate in swallowing the medicine. I know that the Ant Eaters have the habit of keeping their exterior neat and clean. So I told him to put the liquid over the coat so that the animal could lick and clean- it worked!

A Rare Sight! ( Female Ant Eater carrying her child)

I share with you some more interesting facts:

Let us be clear that their mouth is not a sucking vacuum cleaner and it is their tongue which can protrude out more than 2 feet helps in eating. The tongue of anteaters is coated with a thick, sticky layer of saliva, which enables them to catch hold of their prey. Also, their tongue has tiny spines that point towards the back of the throat and they are devoid of teeth.

1. Anteaters swallow nearly 35,000 ants and termites each day.. In order to aid the process of digestion, the stomach of all anteaters secretes formic acid, instead of the normal hydrochloric acid.

2. Anteaters have a sense of smell that is 40 times better than that of humans.

3. Anteaters sleep for a total of about 15 hours per day.

4.The Giant AE has the lowest recorded body temperature of any placental mammal (90.9°F).

5.Anteaters have a typical pattern of walking, by flexing their digits upwards and turning their forefeet inwards. They do not use the normal process of walking on the soles of their forefeet.