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Junior the Anteater’s Release

November 4, 2024

Last month, we shared a story of Junior, the tamandua-bandeira (giant anteater) who was part of our wildlife rehabilitation and release program. After some trial and error, Junior was recently able to make the leap into the wild. 

One evening, the opportunity presented itself to move forward with the release, as he came back to eat with mom. We let him finish his dinner, allowed mom to leave the crate, and then waited patiently and silently to see if he would walk in. He sniffed around, sensing that maybe something was a little different because there were extra people in the area, but he walked willingly into the crate on his own, and we slowly lowered the door behind him. He was very calm as we loaded the crate into the truck, drove the 3 km to the center of the sanctuary, and unloaded it just past a creek in a nice flat spot.

It was fully dark when we positioned the crate facing the woods. Most of us stood way back and our staff vet, Mateus, quickly pulled the door of the crate out and held it in front of himself to act as a shield. (This species’ main defense is to stand on its hind legs and eviscerate an attacker with its large front claws.) We all held our breath and waited in silence for him to rush out, but instead he stayed in the crate for a moment, then stuck only his long, slender nose out, sniffing the air. He took one gradual step at a time until he was fully out of the crate, stopped again to sniff the air for a moment, and then just slowly ambled off into the woods.

Our team is currently hard at work building additional wildlife rehab areas, as it can take quite a long time to rehab and release certain species, anteaters in particular. So it feels like a great success to see one reach healthy adulthood and return to his natural habitat. We will continue to offer some food in increasing time intervals in the area of his release as he learns to hunt on his own. There’s a wildlife trail camera on the property, which we are using to see if he returns for any food that’s been left for him. So far, he hasn’t made an appearance. We don’t know if we’ll see Junior again, but we wish him well on his journey.

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Comments(18)

  1. REPLY
    Melinda says
    November 4, 2024 at 2:06 pm

    Best wishes to Junior!

  2. REPLY
    Elaine Richard says
    November 4, 2024 at 2:24 pm

    Well done, you all. That’s a great achievement. And yes, let’s hope he lives a long time and takes happy, full advantage of his newfound freedom. Glad it all went so smoothly; thanks, of course, to the care and consideration you took in releasing him.

  3. REPLY
    alana says
    November 4, 2024 at 3:40 pm

    Just wondering, do the elephants and anteaters cross paths? If so, does it go well?

    • REPLY
      Sara says
      November 4, 2024 at 4:14 pm

      The anteaters are released in a different part of the sanctuary that’s pretty far from the elephants, so they wouldn’t be in each other’s immediate path. We’ve seen an anteater in the habitat once, but we don’t know if they come upon each other when we’re not around.

  4. REPLY
    Charlotte Hansen says
    November 4, 2024 at 4:39 pm

    Well done, everyone!

  5. REPLY
    Patricia says
    November 4, 2024 at 4:56 pm

    Thank you for caring for him. I pray he’ll be okay. Is there a predator that can hurt him? Humans? 🙏💖🙏

    • REPLY
      Sara says
      November 4, 2024 at 5:13 pm

      There are pumas and jaguars in the region, but they have lots of other choices. The probably don’t want to tangle with an animal who could eviscerate them. Otherwise, you’re correct that humans are the biggest danger.

  6. REPLY
    Wim says
    November 4, 2024 at 5:07 pm

    This must give you all a special feeling to give freedom back to a little piece of the circle of life.

    • REPLY
      Sara says
      November 4, 2024 at 5:14 pm

      It’s incredibly gratifying, that’s for sure.

  7. REPLY
    Carey says
    November 4, 2024 at 5:13 pm

    Completely thrilled to hear of this, very very well done to all the human Uncles and Aunties who helped to raise him. They are something so special!!! And helping this threatened species is really wonderful news for Brazil and for the world.

  8. REPLY
    Bonnie says
    November 4, 2024 at 7:57 pm

    That’s really nice hope junior makes it out there it can be scary

  9. REPLY
    Terry says
    November 4, 2024 at 10:56 pm

    Hopefully Junior won’t sniff his way back and he finds comfort with others he enjoys being around. I dont know if anteaters prefer solo journeys or with others?

    • REPLY
      Kat Blais says
      November 5, 2024 at 7:48 am

      they tend to be loners.

      • Terry says
        November 6, 2024 at 12:20 pm

        Thank you for your response Kat!

  10. REPLY
    Sheila says
    November 5, 2024 at 5:31 am

    WELL JUNIOR. I HOPE U HAVE A GREAT ADVENTURE PACKED. LIVE STAY HEALTHY AND FIT AND HAPPY. U CAN RETURN TO ELEPHANT. SANCTUARY. AS LONG AS U DONT FRIGHTEN THE LADIES😀

  11. REPLY
    Beji says
    November 5, 2024 at 9:33 am

    Is Junior as furry as he looks? What is the texture of his fur? He looks cuddly except for claws that are capable of eviscerating me. Yikes How long are his claws??

    • REPLY
      Sara says
      November 5, 2024 at 11:38 am

      They look soft but are actually rather bristly. Their heads are softer than their bodies and the claws can get up to 4 inches long.

  12. REPLY
    Sheila says
    November 5, 2024 at 3:04 pm

    WELL JUNIOR. I HOPE U HAVE A GREAT ADVENTURE PACKED. LIFE STAY HEALTHY, FIT AND HAPPY. U CAN RETURN TO ELEPHANT. SANCTUARY. AS LONG AS U DONT FRIGHTEN THE LADIES😀

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