20 December 2023

Giant Anteater: ‘Anti-predator mimicry’

Here is a fascinating note from Bob Pitman, cetaceanwatcher extraordinaire, that some of you will remember from Season 1 of the mammalwatching podcast

Bob is also interested in land mammals and sent me this note about Giant Anteaters seeming to use their forelegs to create an optical illusions of second animals – some sort of panda-bushdog bybrid –  alongside each anteater. Hard to describe so it is better to look at the picture, which is a headspin … I still cannot fully work out which bits of the anteater are what.

Someone else noticed this illusion too while Bob’s note was in press – here is a video.

Coincidentally, at almost exactly the moment Bob sent me this yesterday, I was talking about him with Charles Hood here in Hawaii while we were surrounded by Rough-toothed Dolphins 3 miles off of Oahu.

Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it and happy new year to all. I hope there are many great mammals ahead in 2024 for all of us.

 

Jon

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Pitman Anteaters

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Jon Hall
Genetically Welsh, spiritually Australian, currently in New York City. I’ve also lived and worked in London, Canberra, Paris and Lusaka, and watched mammals in over 100 countries.
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