anteater – Christian Sperka Photography | Blog & Site

2011-12-202011-12-20

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2012

Ke$ha (one of Nashville Zoo’s Tamanduas) and I wish you

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2012
Frohe Weihnachten und ein Gutes Neues Jahr 2012
Geseënde Kersfees en ‘n Voorspoedige Nuwe Jaar 2012
Ngikufisela uKhisimusi oMuhle noNyaka oMusha oNempumelelo
Feliz Navidad y un Feliz Año Nuevo 2012
圣诞快乐，新年快乐2012年
Joyeux Noël et une Bonne Année 2012
Schöni Wienachte und en guete Rutsch is neue Johr
Buon Natale e un Felice Anno Nuovo 2012
Cras et sem a Kalendis MMXII
Wesołych Świąt i Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku 2012
Bonan Kristnaskon kaj feliĉan novan jaron

Try to identify the languages for these Holiday greeting – scroll down to see the answer.

I got this colorful, hand-made Christmas card from a Nashville Zoo fan in Argentina.
He incorporated 20 of Nashville Zoo’s species into the picture (Rhinoceros Hornbill, Caribbean Flamingo, Red Panda, White-cheeked Gibbon, Bengal Tiger, Ostrich, Cougar, Damara Zebra, Eland, Masai Giraffe, Baird’s Tapir, African Elephant, Giant Anteater, Red-tailed Monkey, Eurasian Lynx, Rhinoceros Iguana, Tuco Toucan, Ringd-tailed Lemur, American Alligator and Clouded Leopard). Well done and thank you Flavio!

And here are the languages from the Holiday message: English, German, Afrikaans, Zulu, Spanish, Chinese, French, Swiss-German, Spanish, Latin, Polish and Esperanto.

I will be in Germany and Switzerland from December 21 to December 29. All the best – Christian

2011-10-31

Picture of the Week 43 – Halloween

This week’s picture is of a small Tamandua at Nashville Zoo celebrating Halloween with a giant pumpkin 🙂

Enjoy the picture!

About Tamanduas:
Tamandua is a genus of anteaters. It has two members: the Southern Tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) and the Northern Tamandua (Tamandua mexicana). They live in forests and grasslands and possess partially prehensile tails. They mainly eat ants and termites. In captivity, they will eat fruits and meat. They have no teeth and depend on their powerful gizzard to break down their food. Besides the tamanduas, there are two other anteaters, the Giant Anteater and the Silky Anteater. Tamanduas are much smaller than the Giant Anteater, but are larger than the Silky Anteater. The word tamanduá is Tupi for “anteater”, and in Tupi and Portuguese refers to anteaters in general. The tamandua is called in those languages tamanduá-mirim (mirim means “small”).

2011-10-16

Picture of the Week 41 – Heavy Ride

This week’s picture is of Giant Anteaters at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The “little one” is still riding on his mom’s back, even if he is not so little any more :-). The young male weighs already over 30 pounds. He was born on April 24, 2011. Tiana and Mochila reside in the Giant Anteater (off-exhibit) breeding facility at the Nashville Zoo.

Enjoy the picture!

About Giant Anteaters:
The Giant Anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, is the largest species of anteater. It is found in Central and South America from Honduras to northern Argentina. It is a solitary animal, found in many habitats, including grasslands, forests and rainforests. It feeds mainly on ants and termites, sometimes up to 30,000 insects in a single day.

The giant anteater is one of few mammals without any teeth. An anteater crushes insects it consumes using hard growths found on the inside of its mouth. They have an average body temperature of 32.7C, which is one of the lowest of all land-living mammals. It grows to a size of up to 7 feet (2.1 m) in length. It weighs from 65 to 140 pounds (29 to 64 kg).

It bears a single offspring after a gestation period of 190 days, which will stay near the mother until she becomes pregnant again. The baby spends much of the first part of its life riding on its mother’s back, until it is nearly half her size. Females give birth standing up and the newborn anteater immediately climbs onto her back. Young are born with a
full coat of hair and adult-like markings.

More Giant Anteater Pictures at www.sperka.biz/anteater