Northern Tamandua
Northern Tamandua
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| キタコアリクイ | |||
| Character Data | |||
| Romaji | Kita Koarikui
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| Debut | Kemono Friends 3 | ||
| Animal Data | |||
| Scientific Name | Tamandua mexicana
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| Distribution | Central America
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| Diet | Insectivore
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| Avg. Lifespan | Up to 9 years
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| Read More | Northern tamandua
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| Conservation | 
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| Northern Tamandua | KF3 | Gallery |
The Northern Tamandua is a type of Friend first revealed on the official Kemono Friends Twitter on September 19, 2021, as a promotion for the Kemono Friends 3 SHOP in Shinjuku.
Appearance
Northern Tamandua has shoulder-length hair that is straw-coloured at the back, and white near the front, with a large black lock extending forward past her face and to her left. She wears black gloves and shoes, a white sweater with buttons and frills down the center, and a black vest supported by suspenders going over her shoulders. She has straw-coloured shorts and white leggings.
Series Appearances
| Media | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kemono Friends 3 | ↪ Minor character, playable |
In Real Life
The northern tamandua is a medium-sized anteater species residing in tropical and subtropical forests from southern Mexico through Central America, and to the edge of the northern Andes. They are very solitary and generally nocturnal, although they do occasionally become active during the day. Their coat coloration makes it possible to distinguish these species from its southern relative, which has a more uniform color. The hind feet have five toes, while the fore feet have only four.
They spend a little less than half of their time in trees, but almost all of their time hunting for ants and termites, which compose the vast majority of their diet. They have also been observed to eat small quantities of fruit. A northern tamandua can eat as many as 9,000 ants in a single day; despite this, they are not observed doing significant damage to any of the many nests they may visit. They are active for about eight hours each day and spend the rest of the time sheltering in hollow trees. To assist them in navigating an arboreal environment, they have semi-prehensile tails which can be used to grip tree branches.
Not much information exists regarding the mating and reproductive behaviors of northern tamanduas. They haven't been observed to adhere to a specific breeding season. Female tamanduas are capable of breeding year-round and will give birth to a single pup. The pups seek refuge in nests within hollow trees initially, but eventually begin to cling to their mothers' backs as they become more mobile. Young tamanduas are ready to leave their mothers when they reach one year of age.
Trivia
- The name tamandua comes from the word ‘tamãdu’á’ in Tupi (an extinct language which was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil), which translates to ‘ant hunter’, while their suborder ‘Vermilingua’ means ‘worm-tongue’, referring to their famous long tongues.
- When threatened, they will back up onto their rear legs and lash out with their forearms.
- Tamanduas have a pair of scent glands used to mark territory and ward off predators.
References
- https://animalia.bio/northern-tamandua
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_tamandua
- https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/21349/47442649
- Daya Navarrete (2011), “Tamandua mexicana (Pilosa: Myrmecophagidae)”, Oxford Academic.
- Danielle D. Brown (2011), “Fruit-Eating by an Obligate Insectivore: Palm Fruit Consumption in Wild Northern Tamanduas (Tamandua mexicana) in Panamá”, BioOne Digital Library.
- Claudia Irais Muñoz-García (2019), “Epidemiological study of ticks collected from the northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) and a literature review of ticks of Myrmecophagidae anteaters”, Science Direct.