As of: January 29, 2024, 11:42 p.m
By: Lennart Schwenck
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Spotted in the wild after 130 years: A large anteater (lat. Myrmecophaga Tridactyla) © imago images
After 130 years, a giant anteater was spotted in Rio Grande do Sul.
Experts are now examining the animal, which gives hope for cross-border reintroduction.
Barra do Quaraí - Wildlife cameras have captured a giant anteater - also known as the great anteater - in Brazil for the first time in more than 100 years.
This sensation came to the attention of Brazilian biologist Fábio Mazim and his team.
The photos were taken in the Parque Estadual Do Espinilho wildlife park in the southwest of Rio Grande do Sul.
It is the first time the animal has been spotted in the state of Rio Grande do Sul since the 1890s,
Noticias Ambientales
reports.
Sighting of rare anteater a coincidence
Fábio Mazim discovered the anteater while analyzing hundreds of hours of footage for a wildlife study by the Instituto Pro-carnivoros.
“We recorded several videos over a period of six months.
The animal seems to be in very good condition and to have established itself in the area,” explains the biology enthusiastically to
Noticias Ambientales
.
At the moment it is not possible to determine whether it is a male or a female, or whether it is one or more different individuals.
Successful reintroduction project: anteaters are reproducing
Brazilian veterinarian Flavia Miranda of the Tamandua Institute confirmed the significance of the discovery: “It is almost certain that this animal migrated from the Argentine province of Corrientes and belongs to the population reintroduced to the swamps of Iberá;
“The geographical proximity and the morphological characteristics that we observed in the animal lead us to this conclusion,” she explains in the media report.
Alicia Delgado, member of Rewilding Argentina and coordinator of the giant anteater reintroduction project in Iberá, remembers the release of the first pair of anteaters in Colonia Carlos Pellegrini in 2007: “It was a moment of great emotion and also a certain uncertainty, since it was the first time that an attempt was made to reintroduce this species to a place where it had disappeared,” said the biologist.
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Spotted anteater: Biologists check health condition
Delgado continued: “With the great support of the authorities, the local population and many scientists, the initial criticism of the project was overcome, and today the return of the giant anteater is one of the greatest conservation successes in the world.”
The wildlife project has so far released more than 110 anteaters into the wild.
The population that has now reached Brazil shows that restoring nature is possible through cross-border cooperation.
Experts are now planning to capture the spotted individual to study its characteristics and health.
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ls
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