A small giant anteater cub, an endangered species, receives special care from birth by the team at the Pomerode Zoo Bioparkin Pomerode, Santa Catarina.
“Since the mother did not show care for the puppy, we made the technical decision to adopt it. In the first weeks, the calf needed to receive constant care, such as being fed every two hours, even during the night”, explains the biologist educator, Jenifer Kroth.
He spent the first three months of his life at the veterinary clinic receiving full attention, but is now adapting to a new habitat in the Biopark. During the month of February, the public can watch your treatment. Food is held between Fridays and Sundays, at 2 pm.
To ensure the puppy’s well-being, the area is fenced so that the public can watch the treatment from a distance, and silence is also required of the participants. “The habitat is lined with a diaper and straw, items the puppy is already used to,” she adds.
The biologist educator at the Bioparque says that food is an important part of ensuring the development of the animal. Therefore, they prepare a bottle with specific powdered milk for the species’ offspring. “The bottle is offered in such a way as to always keep the food raised a little above his head, so that he does not feed lying down”, she clarifies.
Habitat adaptation
For the giant anteater to be introduced into an enclosure with animals of its species, it is necessary to carry out a process in stages, since it did not live among the others. Therefore, the team began the procedure of introducing him into a habitat at Bioparque Zoo Pomerode during the day.
The expectation is that within six months it will reach maturity so that it can begin an introduction to its definitive environment. Jenifer explains that, in nature, the giant anteater needs to hunt its food, go in search of anthills and termite mounds. “It has a developed sense of smell, which allows it to find termite mounds. It digs the earth with its strong claws, puts its snout in the hole and its sticky tongue catches insects,” he says.
Extinction
The giant anteater is classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. “The degradation and reduction of habitats are identified as the main causes of population loss of the species, but hunting, being run over on roads and forest fires are also major aggravating factors of the situation”.
For this reason, animals of this species, which are housed at Bioparque Zoo Pomerode, are part of the giant anteater conservation program, an effort by zoos to preserve this species.
For more than 90 years, Bioparque Zoo Pomerode has carried out actions in favor of the care and shelter of endangered animals. In all, the site has six giant anteaters, which needed permanent shelter since they could not return to the habitat after treatment, due to non-adaptation or because they suffered some situation that would leave them exposed in the wild.
A small giant anteater cub, an endangered species, receives special care from birth by the team at the Pomerode Zoo Bioparkin Pomerode, Santa Catarina.
“Since the mother did not show care for the puppy, we made the technical decision to adopt it. In the first weeks, the calf needed to receive constant care, such as being fed every two hours, even during the night”, explains the biologist educator, Jenifer Kroth.
He spent the first three months of his life at the veterinary clinic receiving full attention, but is now adapting to a new habitat in the Biopark. During the month of February, the public can watch your treatment. Food is held between Fridays and Sundays, at 2 pm.
To ensure the puppy’s well-being, the area is fenced so that the public can watch the treatment from a distance, and silence is also required of the participants. “The habitat is lined with a diaper and straw, items the puppy is already used to,” she adds.
The biologist educator at the Bioparque says that food is an important part of ensuring the development of the animal. Therefore, they prepare a bottle with specific powdered milk for the species’ offspring. “The bottle is offered in such a way as to always keep the food raised a little above his head, so that he does not feed lying down”, she clarifies.
Habitat adaptation
For the giant anteater to be introduced into an enclosure with animals of its species, it is necessary to carry out a process in stages, since it did not live among the others. Therefore, the team began the procedure of introducing him into a habitat at Bioparque Zoo Pomerode during the day.
The expectation is that within six months it will reach maturity so that it can begin an introduction to its definitive environment. Jenifer explains that, in nature, the giant anteater needs to hunt its food, go in search of anthills and termite mounds. “It has a developed sense of smell, which allows it to find termite mounds. It digs the earth with its strong claws, puts its snout in the hole and its sticky tongue catches insects,” he says.
Extinction
The giant anteater is classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. “The degradation and reduction of habitats are identified as the main causes of population loss of the species, but hunting, being run over on roads and forest fires are also major aggravating factors of the situation”.
For this reason, animals of this species, which are housed at Bioparque Zoo Pomerode, are part of the giant anteater conservation program, an effort by zoos to preserve this species.
For more than 90 years, Bioparque Zoo Pomerode has carried out actions in favor of the care and shelter of endangered animals. In all, the site has six giant anteaters, which needed permanent shelter since they could not return to the habitat after treatment, due to non-adaptation or because they suffered some situation that would leave them exposed in the wild.
