Bulletin From the Barn: January 25, 2011
Giant Anteater Update From Keeper Marie Magnuson
Our little boy is doing very well indeed. He and his mother, Maripi, have settled into a nice relaxed routine. They divide their time between eating and sleeping. I guess it’s kind of like being on a cruise. Not a bad way to spend this very cold winter we're having! As a result, the pup weighs about eight pounds, which is on par with what Maripi’s first two babies weighed at his age.
A Relaxed Pup
I don’t know if it's because he has already overcome some pretty serious obstacles, but he seems to be a very relaxed and self-confident little guy. Aurora, who was Maripi’s first pup, seemed very concerned about being left behind by her mother. If Maripi so much as lifted her head when they were curled up together in the crate, Aurora would scramble over her side and be on Mom’s back by the time she was on her feet. Admittedly, Aurora was sometimes facing in the wrong direction, but Maripi would stand patiently and wait until she turned herself around.
Maripi’s second pup, Cyrano, was not terribly concerned if he wasn’t on his mother’s back as long as he was in physical contact with her. It was not unusual to see Maripi standing by her bowl eating with Cyrano sitting on her foot with his front legs wrapped around her leg, asleep.
The latest edition is even more blasé. Sometimes when his mother gets up and leaves the crate, he just watches her go. If it doesn’t look like she is going too far he just stays in the crate and goes back to sleep. If on the other hand she heads into the next stall he starts to get concerned and follows her. Baby anteaters are not built for speed. They really aren’t built for anything but riding on their mother’s back so it’s a good thing that they are in the barn and that Maripi can’t get too far away.
The pups’ legs will eventually point downward toward the ground like the adults' legs but at this point they go more toward the sides. He looks remarkably like an iguana wearing a black and white fur coat as he chases after his mom. Then when he catches up with her, he has to climb up on her back. He has his own method for this as well.
Climbing Aboard
Most baby anteaters go through a period of trial and error and then settle on the rear-leg route as the best. The baby goes to the outside of one of its mother’s rear legs and tries to climb up the long fur there. When the mother feels it do this, she'll crouch down a little so her heel and ankle form a little step for the baby to push off of and so that the baby doesn’t have so far to climb.
Maripi's third pup will sometimes do this but he seems pretty convinced that grabbing the middle of Maripi’s tail is a better option. When he does this she holds her tail steady and straight (or as steady and straight as she can with an eight-pound baby swinging from it) as he tries to swing a rear leg over her tail and then drag himself up to her back. Of course when he throws his leg over her tail he often throws all of himself over as well and has to start from the beginning.
Alarm Calls
During all of this he almost never alarm calls. Giant anteaters are very quiet animals, but the babies can make a very distinctive alarm call that will bring their mother running. As I’ve mentioned in earlier updates giant anteaters go through life in “Instinct” mode about 99 percent of the time, saving “Thought” mode for special occasions. The alarm call is nature’s way of safeguarding the pups from being left behind. If Mom is wandering off without you, HOLLER! She’ll come back and get you and probably take a swing at anybody nearby for good measure.
I’m not sure why this guy is so quiet but we have almost never heard him call for help, even though he gets left behind on a regular basis. Maybe he is just more self-reliant. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.
At any rate, all is well and we continue to hope for some warm weather so that the anteaters can go outside. If it looks promising we will certainly post something on the Zoo’s 
Facebook page and Twitter feed. Keep your fingers crossed!
