BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is pleased to announce the results of its “Name the Baby Giant Anteater” contest, taken on Facebook and giving respondents a choice of three names: Tupi, Gencio, and Damiano. Animal care staff chose the prospective names, all South American names or terms to honor and describe the new male Giant anteater. Female Giant anteater Pana and male E.O. are the proud parents of their second son, born July 30, 2018.
The winning name is Tupi, which is the name of an indigenous people that lived in Brazil many years ago, and also refers to the anteater in general as translated in the Tupi and Brazilian Portuguese languages. The contest engaged hundreds of voters on Facebook, some who wrote in their own names for the baby.
Of the three names voted on, Tupi won 63% of the vote, Gencio won 25% and Damiano won 12%.
Mochilla, the pair’s first offspring, is now in residence at Alexandria Zoo in Louisiana.
Female anteaters give birth to one offspring and the baby rides on mom’s back for the first several months of life, occasionally venturing off not too far from mom to explore its surroundings. When Pana and Tupi are outside, E.O. will not be allowed to be in the same habitat due to the mother’s protectiveness and the potential of the father hurting the baby. Pana and Tupi will be outside for guests to view into the fall, until the temperatures fall below 50 degrees.
The Giant anteater parents came to the Zoo from Palm Beach Zoo in Palm Beach, Florida. Both Pana and E.O. are nine years old. They arrived in late May 2015 and are a highlight of the Pampas Plains habitat, which opened in August 2015. Featuring animals from the Pampas region of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, Pampas Plains represents phase one of the Zoo’s South American Adventure habitat.
About Giant Anteaters
Giant anteaters can live up to 26 years old in human care and are usually solitary animals. They can weigh up to 100 pounds, and are five to seven feet long. Their home range is from southern Belize to northern Argentina and they live in grasslands, humid forests, and woodland areas. Anteaters have one of the lowest body temperatures in the animal kingdom at 91 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit and can eat up to 30,000 ants per meal in the wild. The Latin name for anteater is Vermillingua, meaning "worm tongue," which can be as long as two feet.
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About Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo
Spend the day a world away! Connecticut's only zoo, celebrating its 96th year, features 300 animals representing primarily North and South American species. Guests won't want to miss our Amur tigers and tiger cubs, Amur leopards, maned wolf family, Brazilian ocelot, Mexican wolves, and Golden Lion tamarins. Other highlights include our new Natt Family Red Panda Habitat, South American rainforest with free-flight aviary, the prairie dog exhibit with "pop-up" viewing areas, the New England Farmyard with goats, pigs, and other barnyard critters, plus the hoofstock trail featuring bison, deer, and more. Guests can grab a bite at the Peacock Café, eat in the Picnic Grove, and enjoy a ride on our colorful, indoor carousel. For more information, visit beardsleyzoo.org.
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