Giant anteaters are unique South American insectivores with highly specialized diets and behaviors. Their welfare in zoos requires careful attention to their dietary needs and solitary lifestyle.
Giant anteater welfare in zoos is shaped primarily by dietary and behavioral challenges. Replicating their natural diet of 35,000 live insects daily is impossible — commercial insectivore diets must be formulated to meet their unique nutritional needs without teeth to process whole food. Providing olfactory enrichment, foraging opportunities in substrate, and puzzle feeders engages their extraordinary chemosensory abilities. Anteaters carry their young on their backs for up to a year — mother-offspring pairs must be housed together with appropriate support. Their powerful claws, evolved for ripping open concrete-hard termite mounds, are a safety consideration for keeper interactions. Conservation programs address road mortality, which is a major cause of death in Brazilian populations.