Who is the Symbol of Bad Luck?

People have varied perceptions on different animals, some seem to have a positive impact on the image of the animal whereas some perceptions make it difficult for the animal to survive. All these perceptions are the creation of our minds. For the animals we love and find fascinating have a positive image whereas animals we do not understand or are fearful of are usually shown as negative and evil.

In this blog we are going to talk about an animal known as the Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) which is perceived as a bad luck or a bad charm in some parts of Brazil which has thus made it difficult to conserve these magnificent animals.

About Giant Anteaters

Giant Anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) are found in Central and South America. The Giant Anteaters are insectivores mammals and primarily feed upon ants and termites. The Giant Anteater is the largest of the four species of Anteaters. They have a sticky tongue of upto 2 feet long to catch ants and mites easily. Giant Anteaters are said to have a poor eye sight but its sense of smell is known to be 40 times more sensitive than that of humans. The front claws of the Giant Anteater are formidable weapons that are even capable of taking down a Jaguar which is one of their natural predator along with pumas.

Although they are shy and typically attempt to avoid humans, Giant Anteaters can inflict severe wounds with their front claws and have been known to seriously injure or kill humans who corner and threaten them. In the past 15 years there have been three cases of the Giant Anteaters killing human beings.

Problems facing the species

Today the Giant Anteaters are considered among the most threatened mammals in Central America, where their grassland habitats are threatened by human induced activities according to the IUCN and are also listed as vulnerable under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species. The major threats to the Giant Anteaters are habitat loss, fires, road kills, dog attacks and poaching for fur and bushmeat.

In Brazil, fires set by sugar cane growers who traditionally burn their fields prior to harvest to remove the plant’s outer leaves, making the cane stalks easier to cut. Not only do these fires affect the habitats, but also the animals. Giant Anteaters are particularly vulnerable to fires due to its slow movement and flammable coat, thus suffering significant burns.

The main cause for high mortality of the Giant Anteater is habitat loss which not only leaves them vulnerable to poaching for bushmeat and fur but further leads to a domino effect, for example habitat destruction for making roads leads to roadkill mortality which is by far the most serious threats to the Giant Anteaters, or urbanisation, which leads to increase in human-animal conflicts which usually ends with the demise of the animal. These vast network of roads have disrupted their habitat. The concerned authorities should implement better vehicle control measures in the area to ensure that stern actions are taken against people over speeding in the area.

The scrub forest and grasslands within the Cerrado biome of Brazil are under a serious peril. In the last 35 years more than half of the Cerrado has been converted into pasture or agricultural lands for cash crops. The remaining habitat is highly fragmented and bisected in several places by an extensive road network.

Another reason for the slow population growth of the Giant Anteaters is that the females give birth to only a single offspring once in a year and that with increasing threats to these amazing animals is difficult to cope up. This problem has increased to an extent where they are largely absent from Andes and have gone extinct in Uruguay, Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala as well as in the parts of Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. And today their population has dropped down to just over 5000 individuals on the entire planet.

After all the devastating things we have done to these beautiful animals, are they a symbol of bad luck to us or is it us to them?

Now its entirely upto us whether we want our next generation to interact with these animals in their natural environment and see them with their own eyes or just let this continue so that we have yet another story to tell our next generation just like dinosaurs are for us.

We are the catalysts of change. With being the most intelligent species on this planet, comes a great responsibility to conserve and preserve it just like we had received it. It’s the most precious gift we have. Use your ultimate weapon called social media to show your support for the conservation of these magnificent animals.