Giant anteater spotted for first time in 130 years
Hundreds of hours of survey footage have revealed the rare mammal in the south-west of Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil
Wildlife camera traps have recorded footage of a giant anteater wandering through scrubland in Espinilho State Park in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is the first time since the 1890s that this large mammal has been seen in the south-west of the state. Experts think the anteater came from Iberá National Park in Argentina, where a major rewilding project has been underway since 2007.
The anteater was spotted by Brazilian biologist Fábio Mazim as he was reviewing hundreds of hours of footage for a wildlife survey. “The animal seems to be in very good condition and established in the area,” says Mazim. “At the moment it is impossible for us to determine if it is male or female, one or even several different individuals.”
According to WWF Brazil, the species was once present in all 27 Brazilian states. It is now threatened with extinction in all regions of the country and has been lost from some states entirely. The main causes of the population decline are the degradation and loss of habitat, hunting, road accidents and forest fires.
Giant anteaters were first reintroduced to Iberá National Park in 2007 by Rewilding Argentina. Since the start of the project, 110 anteaters orphaned by road accidents or poaching have been released, and several generations now live in Iberá Wetlands.
The discovery in Rio Grande do Sul state, along with additional sightings over a 100km range, suggest that Iberá’s giant anteaters are colonising other regions.
For the next stage of the project, researchers will try to find out if there are more individuals in the area, and determine what their favoured habitat is. “We intend to capture the individual sighted in Espinilho State Park, collect biological samples for genetic analysis, and compare them with the populations that exist elsewhere in Brazil,” says Flávia Miranda, a veterinarian who has been studying the species for 25 years.