Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Bumi, a young giant anteater from the South American country of Guyana, settled in right away at his new home at the North Florida Wildlife Center (NFWC) in Lamont, when he arrived on Thursday evening, Aug. 4. NFWC Director Ryan Reines reports that Bumi immediately scampered around his new habitat, wrestled playfully with a boulder and jumped in his pool for a quick, dramatic bath. He seemed to need zero adjustment, much to the shock of the NFWC team. He has been eating well and is interacting comfortably with staff.
In short, Bumi is already ready for visitors! Are you ready to meet this amazing, gentle giant?
At mealtime, Bumi slowly walks over to a feeding cup and tucks his 18-inch-long nose into the cylinder. A staff member's hand holds the container, but Bumi also steadies it with his own boldly striped forearm and impressive claws – designed to deftly dig into anthills and tear apart rotting trees filled with termites. With a quick flicker, Bumi's ropelike tongue, which is coated with sticky saliva and capable of extending out two feet, slips into the cup to lick up a mash formulated just for him. Bumi's eyes close in contentment, looking a lot like a human baby with a bottle.
Reines explains that Bumi's formula “mimics the nutrition found in ants and termites, and he is also offered a multivitamin supplement, mashed banana, mashed hard-boiled eggs and lots of insects as treats.”
Bumi gobbles it up, and he is growing well. He gained two pounds during his first week at the center. Although just one year and two months of age, the anteater is already five and a half feet long and weighs 51 pounds. Bumi's species, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, is the largest of four anteater types. Reines says he will keep growing until he weighs about 80 pounds and is eight feet long from the tip of his nose to the end of his super shaggy tail.
He was given the name Bumi at the end of his first week at NFWC, after he seemed to prefer a feeding cup with that name on it. Cups marked with the names Arlo and Otis apparently were not as appealing.
“[The name Bumi] means 'of the Earth' in Sanscrit,” says Reines, “and is also an 'Earthbender' in the series Avatar, the Last Airbender."
What a fitting name for a creature who by nature digs ants out of the earth.
Bumi was born at a zoo in Guyana, a country where anteaters also live in the wild. His journey to the United States is significant, says Reines, because he has a genetic bloodline different than any other anteaters here. Anteaters are naturally solitary creatures, except when breeding. When Bumi has matured to reproductive age, about a year and a half from now, his pairing can potentially increase the survival of his species by increasing its genetic diversity.
“They are one of the most endangered animals in Central and South America,” adds Reines, “and already extinct in multiple Central American countries.”
Having a giant anteater at NFWC wasn't in Reines' plans for the center, at all. The staff have been focusing on building bigger and better habitats for the animals already in residence rather than increasing the number of new animals and rescues. Thus, when Reines was approached about taking this anteater in, his initial response was “thank you, but no.” When he talked with his senior staff, however, their reaction was “why not?” A full staff meeting ensued, during which everyone voiced their willingness to put in the extra hours and effort to make the offer a reality.
That was just six months ago. In this short amount of time, the NFWC team not only raised the funds to pay for Bumi's travel, buy the materials needed for his habitat and arrange for veterinary care. They completed the necessary paperwork, built the enclosure, worked out schedules to meet his needs and stocked up on anteater food. It was a monumental feat.
Many donors and sponsors stepped up to help ensure that the young anteater would have a place and a program here where he could thrive.
Says Reines, “I am just a pair of dozens of hands that helped with this. This is the biggest construction and fundraising feat we have undertaken and accomplished.”
NFWC “is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that strives for the highest standards of animal care, education, conservation, environmental service, and operations. The NFWC is active in education initiatives, breeding programs, and ecosystem recovery around the world, as well as in its own community. The NFWC has been a top attraction in North Florida since its opening in 2019.”
Entrance fees paid by those who visit help NFWC continue its mission and support conservation projects around the world that protect critical habitats and save endangered species. For example, when someone schedules an Anteater Encounter at NFWC, they are helping to support the Anteaters & Highways Project, which works to save giant anteaters in the wild (see www.giantanteater.org).
To plan a tour, field trip or animal encounter with Bumi or the other rare and endangered species living at NFWC, visit northfloridawildlife.org.
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