I've seen
Giant Anteaters at
57 zoos. An interesting fact with this species is that, going down my list of zoos, I would estimate that at least 50% of them had Giant Anteaters in a mixed-species habitat. There's a wide range of hoofed animals, primates and even birds that have all been combined with Giant Anteaters, which perhaps showcases how easy going this species is in captivity. I've seen keepers in with Giant Anteaters as well, even though these animals are famous for their large front claws. They are nice species to see in zoos, although occasionally I've come across one pacing badly and that's been unfortunate to witness.
2010 = 13 zoos
2019 = 12 zoos
1- Zurich Zoo (Switzerland) – Giant Anteater – 2003
2- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2006
3- Denver Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2006
4- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Giant Anteater – 2006
5- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
6- Detroit Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
7- Smithsonian’s National Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
8- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
9- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
10- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
11- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
12- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
13- Zoo Miami (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2008
14- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
15- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
16- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
17- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
18- Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
19- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
20- Birmingham Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
21- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
22- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
23- Houston Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
24- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
25- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
26- Dallas World Aquarium (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2010
27- Santa Ana Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2011
28- Reid Park Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2011
29- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2011
30- Sacramento Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2011
31- Great Plains Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2012
32- Potawatomi Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2012
33- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2012
34- Brevard Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2012
35- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2012
36- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2012
37- Sunset Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2012
38- Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2012
39- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2014
40- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2015
41- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2015
42- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2017
43- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Giant Anteater – 2017
44- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Giant Anteater – 2019
45- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Giant Anteater – 2019
46- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Giant Anteater – 2019
47- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Giant Anteater – 2019
48- Zoo Neuwied (Germany) – Giant Anteater – 2019
49- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Giant Anteater – 2019
50- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Giant Anteater – 2019
51- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Giant Anteater – 2019
52- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Giant Anteater – 2019
53- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) – Giant Anteater – 2019
54- ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) – Giant Anteater – 2019
55- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Giant Anteater – 2019
56- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Giant Anteater – 2022
57- Aalborg Zoo (Denmark) – Giant Anteater – 2022
How to choose the maximum
20 photos for this post? Let's go...
Quite often, when I think of Giant Anteaters in captivity, I recall watching one sink into a small pool of water at
San Diego Zoo (USA). I watched this specific animal for a long time and I always wonder if Giant Anteaters would benefit from having large water sources in their exhibits. At zoos with big pools, do the Giant Anteaters ever submerge and utilize that space? Has anyone seen one swimming?
At Denver Zoo (USA), I saw a Giant Anteater in with Spider Monkeys. At Brookfield Zoo (USA), I saw a Giant Anteater pacing on mock-rock while in a mixed-species bird/primate exhibit inside
Tropic World. It seems that Giant Anteaters are easily combined with other creatures in zoos.
I enjoyed seeing a Giant Anteater explore its large, grassy yard at
Detroit Zoo (USA) in 2008:
This is a poor quality photo, but it's one that is historically important for this conversation as it shows a Giant Anteater and a Black Curassow, in an exhibit that also held Golden Lion Tamarins and some other birds, at
Cincinnati Zoo (USA) in 2008. It's possible that this indoor enclosure temporarily held a Giant Panda back in the day, and at one point it apparently had Komodo Dragons as well.
Here is the Giant Anteater/Maned Wolf yard at
Phoenix Zoo (USA) in 2011, when the animals were mixed together in the same enclosure.
Jacksonville Zoo (USA) has had Giant Anteaters in with Capybaras, White-faced Sakis, Black Howler Monkeys and Squirrel Monkeys over the years. Not all at the same time, but various combinations have existed in the last 16 years.
@Moebelle
Giant Anteaters and Capybaras were together at
Buffalo Zoo (USA) when I was there in 2010. The exhibit was entirely indoors inside
Rainforest Falls.
Birmingham Zoo (USA) had a nice yard for Giant Anteaters that same summer:
There is the ruined temple vibe for this Giant Anteater, paired with Two-toed Sloths and Agoutis, at
Audubon Zoo (USA) in 2010.
Giant Anteaters were together in the same space as Maned Wolves at
Houston Zoo (USA) for years. Now, of course, the zoo has opened its impressive ne
w Pantanal zone that includes Giant Anteaters. Here's an image of the old Anteater/Wolf enclosure:
Tierra de las Pampas is the name for the South American grassland section at
Santa Ana Zoo (USA). Here is the Giant Anteater exhibit:
Sacramento Zoo (USA) has recently maintained Giant Anteaters in a small, old-fashioned big cat grotto.
Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) has kept Giant Anteaters and Capybaras together in this old great ape enclosure (photo from 2011):
Palm Beach Zoo (USA), in 2012, had a
Pioneer House that was also partially used for viewing an enclosure that contained Giant Anteaters, Baird's Tapirs, Capybaras, Maras, Southern Screamers, Black Swans and various other waterfowl.
Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) has kept Giant Anteaters with Agoutis, while
Pairi Daiza (Belgium) has kept Giant Anteaters with Baird's Tapirs and Capybaras.
@KevinB
At the superb
GaiaZOO (Netherlands), the Giant Anteater House can be seen while a visitor is strolling through a large South American aviary.
@KevinB
Zoo Neuwied (Germany) has Giant Anteaters and Lowland Tapirs together in an exhibit connected to the big
South American House.
Amongst zoo nerds, the
Anteater House at
Dortmund Zoo (Germany) is legendary. Is there another zoo in either Europe or North America that has an actual 'Anteater House'? When there in 2019, the species list consisted of the following: Giant Anteater, Southern Tamandua, Kinkajou, Two-toed Sloth and Six-banded Armadillo.
Ree Park Safari (Denmark) had a spacious outdoor paddock for Giant Anteaters and a somewhat tiny little holding building as well. I suspect that there's a larger housing unit elsewhere.
A terrific
South American Pampas awaits visitors at
Aalborg Zoo (Denmark). Indoors, immersed in deep mulch even on the visitor side (!!) are Lowland Tapirs, Giant Anteaters, Spider Monkeys, Six-banded Armadillos and free-ranging Two-toed Sloths. Outside are Giant Anteaters, Lowland Tapirs, Maras, Capybaras, Vicunas and Rheas.
Non-primate or carnivore mammals:
Asian Elephants -
61 zoos
Giant Anteaters -
57 zoos
African Elephants -
53 zoos
Tree Kangaroos -
33 zoos (2 species: 24 Matschie's, 9 Goodfellow's)
Koalas -
25 zoos
Short-beaked Echidnas -
22 zoos
Tasmanian Devils -
10 zoos
Platypuses -
5 zoos
* On the top of page 60, I have my final lists for
Carnivora (130 species) and
Primates (141 species) = 271 species at the 551 different zoos/aquariums I've visited.