[Above photo: An adult giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) photographed in 2022 in the Llanos de Moxos natural grasslands of Bolivia, where it is increasingly threatened by wildfires, as well as the expansion of mechanized agriculture. Credit: Rob Wallace ©️WCS]
 

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, August 18, 2026—A 25-year camera-trap study, the largest ever on this naturally rare species, reveals that giant anteaters alter their behavior to cope with rising temperatures.

The study found that giant anteaters are more common in tropical savannas with patches of forest than in continuous rainforest, highlighting the need to protect both the Amazon rainforest and the threatened savannas where the species thrives.

Published in Xenarthra, the study draws on a quarter century of camera trap monitoring for wildlife across multiple landscapes in Bolivia. Researchers found that giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) shift their activity patterns in response to higher temperatures in savannas, becoming increasingly active during cooler nighttime hours. The findings suggest that forest patches provide critical thermal refuges that allow the species to cope with heat, highlighting their potential importance under future climate warming.

The study also found notable differences in giant anteater abundance between landscapes. Anteaters were more frequently recorded in tropical savannas interspersed with forest islands than in areas dominated by continuous Amazon rainforest. Together, the findings highlight the need to protect both ecosystems—rainforests that help buffer rising temperatures and the increasingly threatened tropical savannas where giant anteaters are found in greater numbers, probably because of higher densities of terrestrial ant and termite nests in tropical grasslands.

"This study demonstrates the tremendous value of camera trap surveys and long-term wildlife monitoring," said Dr. Robert Wallace, Senior Conservation Scientist for WCS Bolivia and lead author of the study. "By studying giant anteaters across decades and in different ecosystems, we can see how they respond to environmental conditions today while also gaining insights into how climate change and habitat loss may affect them in the future. Conserving both forests and natural savannas will be essential for the long-term survival of this remarkable species.”

Giant anteaters are among Latin America's most distinctive mammals, recognized by their elongated snouts, bushy tails, and specialized diet of ants and termites. Although they remain widely distributed from Honduras to northern Argentina, the species is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Populations continue to decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting, road mortality, attacks by domestic dogs, and increasingly severe wildfires.

These threats may become even more significant as climate change and habitat loss interact to reduce suitable habitat and thermal refuges, underlining the need for studies which provide better information about their habitat preferences, as well as long-term population monitoring efforts.

The paper, "Now You See Me, Now You Don't: Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) Activity Patterns and Relative Abundance in the Tropical Grasslands and Forests of Bolivia," was authored by Robert B. Wallace, Guido Ayala, and Maria Viscarra.

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