Mundo Azul supports the Amazon Orphanage Pilpintuwasi
“Rosa”, the giant anteater
Rosa is a giant anteater who was left at Pilpintuwasi in 2005. Some people from an Indian village near had killed the anteater’s mother, because -as they said-she had tried to attack them !!!
Anteaters aren’t aggressive at all – but the people had gotten between the mother and the baby, and naturally the mother tried to defend her offspring. When they have to, anteaters get up on their hind feet, roar very similar to a bear (a frightening sound) and start to move their arms with the long sharp claws trying to scratch or get hold of the enemy.
The local believe that the anteater is the only animal in the jungle that can kill a Jaguar if it gets attacked. So the men became afraid and killed the adult anteater. They didn’t know how to feed the baby, so finally they left it at Pilpintuwasi.
“Rosa” drank milk too when she was small, but since about 1,5 years she eats mostly ants. In order for her to find enough food and for us to not have to worry about her, we have a young guy from the village who walks her everyday from 08.00 to 12.00 in the jungle. Then the boy has lunch – and Rosa a nap – and from 13.00 to 17.00 they walk again: Rosa has to eat about 40 000 ants a day!
When our visitors want to see her, The anteater guard is called to bring her and she gets a little bit of milk, a kind of treat or reward, because she loves it and at the same time Pilpintuwasis guests can take pictures or even touch her while she eats. It’s impressive to see her long, long tongue licking the milk out of the bowl !
Help us repairing a little bit of the damage humans have done to these animals.
• $5 will care for one of the turtles for a month;
• $30 for feed Rosa the anteater until she moves onto ants;
• $50 will feed all of the birds;
• $280 will feed Pedro Bello, the Jaguar;