From New Births to Deadly Numbers,
South America’s Rare Giants Continue to Surprise

Like innocents arriving through a portal from the Pleistocene past, South America’s giant armadillos and giant anteaters naively wander a gauntlet of modern dangers. To give voice to these quiet creatures, a team of conservationists led by Dr. Arnaud Desbiez and supported by zoos continues to raise awareness as they answer foundational questions that just may let these creatures survive in the today’s Anthropocene age. Their efforts have been rewarded with discovering a baby giant armadillos as well as the chance to solve one of the gravest threats to giant anteaters.

GIANT NEWS

A far cry from their diminutive nine-banded armadillo cousins in the United States, giant armadillos weigh up to 50 kg (110 lbs.) and measure up to 1.5 m (5 ft.) long with impressive claws that can reach over 20 cm (8 in.). Little was known of these creatures until Desbiez created the Giant Armadillo Project in Brazil in 2010. Even most locals in their range had never seen one. While studying these nocturnal creatures, the team had the opportunity to observe challenges facing other species which lead them to expand by adding a project to address the shockingly deadly threat of roadkill: Anteaters & Highways.

Helping Giant ANTEATERs on the Move

While listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable to extinction across its range, the giant anteater is already extinct in several former range countries and some Brazilian states. During a preliminary study by the team, over 1000 km (621 miles) of paved highway in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul were monitored twice a month for a year. The results were shocking with 136 giant anteaters found among the carcasses. The tight focus of the Anteaters & Highways project is to reduce this deadly threat.

GPS harnesses placed on giant anteaters in the Pantanal by the team have already revealed the challenge will be substantial as preliminary analysis indicate their home ranges are larger than what is currently published. Their  study aims to address the threat by collecting data on why, when, and how anteaters interact with roadways in the more developed Cerrado ecoregion. Research results will provide insight into movement patterns to inform road management strategies and help save this iconic species.

Zoo Support

The core costs of Anteaters & Highways are covered by a multi-year grant from Fondation Segré. Additional support comes from zoos across North America and Europe that can be seen on the project's website.  “Few people realize how engaged zoos are in species conservation throughout the world,” explains Deszbiez, who is himself employed by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. “Whether it is to review an anesthetic protocol, discuss a particular behavior, review a paper we wrote, give advice on equipment or even help develop a fundraising strategy, advice from zoo professionals is very much appreciated and most often fundamental. This is certainly something we use and abuse as much as we can. It is amazing how generous people working in zoos are with their time and expertise.”

Among those supporters is Naples Zoo in Florida who funds the annual salary of the head veterinarian that oversees the work with both the giant armadillos and giant anteaters.

“The Naples Zoo has been a long term partner of the Giant Armadillo Conservation Project for many years from providing funding for harnesses to monitor giant anteaters to setting up and managing a website to promote our work,” Desbiez said. “The funding from the Zoo to support the head veterinarian of the project Danilo Kluyber was a real game changer for us. Knowing funding for this position is secure we can better concentrate our efforts and time to our conservation work.” 

The project is still seeking funding for additional harnesses that cost $3,000 each to purchase and operate during the study period. Interested persons and organizations can donate by check or online donation through the Naples Zoo Conservation Fund noting "giant anteaters" and 100% of the tax-deductible donation will go to the project. 

Naples Zoo also funds the project's annual dues to Species360 for them to use the Zoological Information Management Software (ZIMS).   As wild populations of threatened species become increasingly fragmented and isolated, the kind of management needed for wild populations becomes less distinguishable from current zoo management practices. Sharing ZIMS data on fertility rates, medical values, diet, and even things like habitat preferences and appearance is critical to informing conservationists as they track and manage both wild and zoo populations.

An Armadillo Named Tim

Perhaps nothing speaks of survival and hope like a new birth. The team was thrilled to report a giant armadillo named Isabelle had given birth. The team named the baby Tim - in honor of Tim Tetzlaff, Director of Conservation at Naples Zoo (shown here on the left with Desbiez at right in Naples Zoo in 2015). Isabelle and the Giant Armadillo Project made global headlines in 2013 when they first documented the breeding of this highly elusive species and began studying Isabelle’s male offspring, Alex. Over the next two years, Isabelle slowly revealed giant armadillo secrets from an updated gestation period of 5 months to providing much more extensive maternal care than previously expected. Those continuing discoveries ended when Alex died from injuries most likely given by a puma. It was a devastating loss for the team – emotionally and scientifically. The discovery of Tim and the video of Tim with his mother Isabelle (below) was great news for the project.

Resetting The Discovery Clock

And while the team had to wait two years to catch up to where Alex left off, Tim’s arrival has already added key data for the species: a three-year birth interval. That indicates a slower population growth rate than once hypothesized – meaning reversing their population decline will take even longer. For perspective, an African elephant with a 22-month gestation has an average birth interval just over four years. This is the third baby the team has documented with Isabelle. Being able to record events like this demonstrates the importance of long-term projects and provides ample evidence for the team receiving the prestigious Whitley Award. Their work was also featured on a PBS Nature special entitled Hotel Armadillo in 2017. 

With cooperation between passionate field conservationists and dedicated partners like these, South America's wildlife wonders may just have that chance at a brighter future. 

About Naples Zoo
Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization caring for rare animals within its historic botanical garden while cooperating in conservation programs both in and outside the wild for endangered species. Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Naples Zoo offers guests an opportunity to experience wildlife from anteaters to zebras along with a full day of presentations and a guided cruise through islands of monkeys, lemurs, and apes. For more, click www.napleszoo.org, follow them at www.facebook.com/napleszoo or call (239) 262-5409.