The Frankfurt Zoo is constantly promoting the socialization of its animal species.

That's why the interior of the black howler monkeys is currently being renovated, which can be viewed directly in the checkout area.

In the future, the giant anteaters will also feel comfortable there with their slightly different needs in terms of living environment and comfort.

This could have positive consequences for the FAZ patent animal Tambo, whose gender has turned out to be female after long doubts.

Because that's how the one-year-old Tambo not only shares the outdoor area in Ukumari-Land, but also the warm rooms in cold weather with a possible playmate.

Daniel Meuren

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Because the giant anteaters had offspring in June.

The little giant anteater in the Frankfurt Zoo was born on June 20th and spent the first few weeks with its mother in the whelping box, but for the last few days it has always been observed on the back of mother Ines on excursions in the outdoor enclosure.

The six-and-a-half-year-old mother came to Frankfurt from the Zlín-Lešná Zoo in the Czech Republic in spring 2017.

The father, the male Falin, who was about the same age, moved from the Cologne Zoo to the Main at the same time.

For the two, it is not the first offspring together: Ines gave birth to a male cub in 2018.

Worn on the back

Large anteaters have a long tradition at Frankfurt Zoo: the species was shown as early as 1951, and almost 20 years later the zoo succeeded in breeding them for the first time.

“Large anteaters carry their young on their backs from the first day of life.

You can clearly see how the distinctive black and white fur markings of mother and child merge into one another, so the young animals are well camouflaged,” says zoo veterinarian Nicole Schauerte.

The comfortable life on the back of the mother ends for the offspring in nature after one to two years, in the zoo the male offspring is separated from the mother after reaching sexual maturity, which is usually the case after six months.

So far, the giant anteaters could only be seen when they were in the outdoor enclosure.

Your indoor facility is located in a “behind the scenes” area of ​​the South America facility.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) are considered endangered.

Above all, the loss of their habitat through deforestation, hunting and industrial agriculture has been causing the stocks to shrink for years.

Giant anteaters are native to Central and South America, where they live in both the savannah and the rainforest.

The Frankfurt Zoological Society has been making an important contribution to protecting their habitat in Guyana, South America, since 2014.

Together with the National Conservation Authority, FZS is helping to conserve the Kanuku Mountains wilderness area, which encompasses more than 6,000 square kilometers of native and uninhabited rainforest.

Link to the project