Fruit-Eating by an Obligate Insectivore: Palm Fruit Consumption in Wild Northern Tamanduas (Tamandua mexicana) in Panamá
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Danielle D. Brown
- Source
- Edentata. 12:63-65
- Subject
- Panama
Tamandua
Anteater
biology
Obligate
Ecology
biology.animal
Myrmecophagidae
Insectivore
Cyclopedidae
biology.organism_classification
Predation
- Language
- ISSN
- 1413-4411
Anteaters (Myrmecophagidae and Cyclopedidae) are known to be specialist predators of ants and termites. Many types of fruits are included in the diets of captive anteaters, even though fruit-eating in the wild has only rarely been reported. During a 2008–2010 telemetry study of northern tamanduas (Tamandua mexicana) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, several individuals were witnessed consuming ripe fruits of the palm tree Attalea butyracea. I propose that northern tamanduas regularly seek out fruit as a supplement to their insect diet. Attalea butyracea fruit is seasonally abundant throughout Central America and can provide low-cost enrichment for captive tamanduas.