Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Anteater couple are welcomed to Camperdown
A DIABETIC giant anteater recently fitted with a glucose monitor has arrived at Dundee’s Camperdown Wildlife Centre.
Nala, 17, who has been trained to receive insulin injections every day, is settling in to life in her new city with a male named Lucifer, aged 18.
She is thought to be the first anteater in the world to be diagnosed with diabetes.
The pair arrived from Edinburgh Zoo on Thursday, just days after Nala was given the remarkable treatment.
She shot to fame earlier this year after appearing on the BBC Scotland series, Inside the Zoo, exhibiting the same symptoms as people do.
Vets and keepers at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland noticed she was losing weight despite eating the same amount, or sometimes even more, than usual.
She was subsequently diagnosed with diabetes and this week was fitted with a blood glucose monitor usually used on humans, which was donated by Dexcom.
The condition is known to occur in domestic cats, dogs and in tamandua (another type of anteater) in the wild but no other cases have been reported in giant anteaters.
Giant anteaters are native to Central and South America and are classed as a vulnerable species by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Only about 5,000 remain in the wild. They use their strong sense of smell and two-foot tongue to seek out and eat more than 30,000 ants and termites every day.
But rather than ants, they will be fed a special insectivore diet while in the care of Camperdown staff, consisting of insect meal, poultry protein and fish oil.
A centre spokesperson said: “It’s always exciting to house new animals and these are particularly special as they are a uniquely evolved species linked to their own habitat.
“Visiting them will allow appreciation of the diversity of animals from all over the world and the important conservation work that we continue to do.”