World Anteater Day, November 19

By Aimee Turcotte
Four baby Giant Anteaters have been born at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. All these babies are from Pana, a female, and E.O., a male. Pana and E.O. are both 16 years old and originally came from the Palm Beach Zoo. These Giant Anteaters arrived at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in late May 2015. E.O. is named after E.O. Wilson, a famous entomologist who studied ant microevolution (3).
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Pana and E.O.’s first baby, Mochilla, is a 9-year-old male who was born on February 12th, 2016, and currently resides at the Alexandria Zoo as a part of a breeding program (1, 3). Mochilla is the first Giant Anteater to be born at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo.

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The second baby, Tupi, is a 7-year-old male who was born in 2018. The name "Tupi" refers to an anteater when translated into the Tupi and Brazilian Portuguese languages (2). Tupi did spend some time living with the Spider Monkeys at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo before being transferred to the Nashville Zoo.

The third baby, Chili, is a 4-year-old female who was born on June 15th, 2021. Her name refers to the small pepper that is a key ingredient in Mexican and South American cooking. Chili was transferred to the Miller Park Zoo, where she was paired with Arnaud, a male Giant Anteater from the Nashville Zoo (4). Chili and Arnaud had a male baby Giant Anteater, named Mr. Snoot, on June 16th, 2025 (5). The Miller Park Zoo states that Chili has a brave personality, showing an interest in exploring new things (4).
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The fourth baby, Kayapó, is a 1-year-old female and was born on August 27th, 2024. She is still living at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. Kayapó was named after the Indigenous people of Brazil.

(1) https://thealexandriazoo.com/GiantAnteater.html
(2)https://www.milfordmirror.com/news/regional2/article/Baby-giant-anteater-gets-a-name-13891919.php
(3)https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Not-so-giant-baby-anteater-arrives-at-Beardsley-13224616.php
(4) https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-06-24/baby-anteater-born-at-miller-park-zoo
(5) https://mpzs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Newsletter-Fall-2025-.pdf
(6)https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/baby-giant-anteater-born-at-states-only-zoo-in-bridgeport/520-2f52c952-ead1-418f-8da3-7f227f18018c