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A ‘GIANT’ arrival for Belfast Zoo
15 February 2012
Belfast Zoological Gardens has welcomed two ‘giant’ new arrivals, in the form of two giant anteaters!
Pancho and Kara arrived in Belfast from Duisburg Zoo and Halle Zoo, in Germany! Giant anteaters are part of a European breeding programme, there are only 200 anteaters living in zoos around the world and Belfast Zoo’s latest arrivals are the only pair in Ireland!
Giant anteaters can grow up to seven feet in length and are definitely an unusual looking species with a long snout and a sticky tongue which is 50 centimetres in length! They use their long, sharp claws to rip open insect nests and use their tongue to mop up insects. In fact they can eat up to 30,000 insects in a single day! The pair recently enjoyed their first Valentine’s Day together at Belfast zoo. Staff have high hopes that love will be in the air next year with a baby clinging to Kara’s back.
Zoo manager, Mark Challis, is delighted with the new arrivals, “Pancho and Kara, have settled in well over the past few weeks. Visitors can now see the pair in their new enclosure, which they share with a number of other exciting South American species, including Darwin’s rhea and the largest rodent in the world, the capybara! Giant anteaters could be facing a high risk of extinction in the future and we are delighted to play an active role in the conservation of this incredible species.”
You can contribute to the care of Pancho and Kara by taking part in the zoo’s animal adoption scheme.
Find out more about animal adoption
You can see more photos of Pancho and Kara, by going to www.facebook.com/belfastzoo.
Pancho and Kara arrived in Belfast from Duisburg Zoo and Halle Zoo, in Germany! Giant anteaters are part of a European breeding programme, there are only 200 anteaters living in zoos around the world and Belfast Zoo’s latest arrivals are the only pair in Ireland!
Giant anteaters can grow up to seven feet in length and are definitely an unusual looking species with a long snout and a sticky tongue which is 50 centimetres in length! They use their long, sharp claws to rip open insect nests and use their tongue to mop up insects. In fact they can eat up to 30,000 insects in a single day! The pair recently enjoyed their first Valentine’s Day together at Belfast zoo. Staff have high hopes that love will be in the air next year with a baby clinging to Kara’s back.
Zoo manager, Mark Challis, is delighted with the new arrivals, “Pancho and Kara, have settled in well over the past few weeks. Visitors can now see the pair in their new enclosure, which they share with a number of other exciting South American species, including Darwin’s rhea and the largest rodent in the world, the capybara! Giant anteaters could be facing a high risk of extinction in the future and we are delighted to play an active role in the conservation of this incredible species.”
You can contribute to the care of Pancho and Kara by taking part in the zoo’s animal adoption scheme.
Find out more about animal adoption
You can see more photos of Pancho and Kara, by going to www.facebook.com/belfastzoo.
Belfast Zoo is owned by 
