Holy sweet mother of swamp monkeys.
May. 30th, 2005 01:28 amSee this thing in my user icon? It's a baby Paraguayan anteater- a giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla. I made an icon of it because it was funky and strange and looked like it would provoke response, and it has.
I have just found out some thoroughly disturbing facts about the beastie:
Length: 67 - 83 inches
Weight: 44 - 86 lbs
Gestation: 130 - 150 days
Offspring: 1
Life Span: 26 years
Top Speed (Ground): 31 mph
Let me repeat that: we are looking at an anteater that can grow to the size of a friggin' bloodhound, weigh as much as a really kickin' Siberian husky, and in short sprints outdo your average horse. Furthermore:
The mother anteater carries her single offspring on her back for a considerable length of time, even though the baby anteater is capable of a slow gallop four weeks after birth. Docile and inoffensive by nature, the anteater’s principal enemies are the puma and the jaguar. These large predators must be careful in their attacks, however, as an embrace by the anteater’s powerful forelimbs can sometimes prove fatal.
Y'see that? Piss 'em off, and they can kill JAGUARS.
Anteaters rule.
I have just found out some thoroughly disturbing facts about the beastie:
Length: 67 - 83 inches
Weight: 44 - 86 lbs
Gestation: 130 - 150 days
Offspring: 1
Life Span: 26 years
Top Speed (Ground): 31 mph
Let me repeat that: we are looking at an anteater that can grow to the size of a friggin' bloodhound, weigh as much as a really kickin' Siberian husky, and in short sprints outdo your average horse. Furthermore:
The mother anteater carries her single offspring on her back for a considerable length of time, even though the baby anteater is capable of a slow gallop four weeks after birth. Docile and inoffensive by nature, the anteater’s principal enemies are the puma and the jaguar. These large predators must be careful in their attacks, however, as an embrace by the anteater’s powerful forelimbs can sometimes prove fatal.
Y'see that? Piss 'em off, and they can kill JAGUARS.
Anteaters rule.