Giant Anteater - in Culture

In Culture

In the mythology and folklore of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon Basin, the giant anteater is depicted as a trickster foil to the jaguar as well as a humorous figure due to its long snout. In one Shipib tale, an anteater challenged a jaguar to a breath holding contest underwater, which the jaguar accepted. After the two removed their pelts and submerged, the anteater jumped out of the water and stole the jaguar's pelt, leaving the jaguar with the anteater's pelt. In a Yarabara myth, the evil ogre Ucara is transformed into one by the sun. This myth emphasizes the nearly immobile nature of the anteater's mouth which was considered a burden. The Kayapo people wear masks of various animals and spirits, including the anteater, during naming and initiation ceremonies. It is believed that women who touched anteater masks or men who stumbled while wearing them would die or receive some sort of physical disorder.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the giant anteater was one of many native fauna taken to Europe for display. At first, Europeans believed that all anteaters were female and mated with their noses, a misconception corrected by naturalist Félix de Azara. In the 20th century, Salvador Dalí wrote imaginatively that the giant anteater "reaches sizes bigger than the horse, possesses enormous ferocity, has exceptional muscle power, is a terrifying animal." Dalí depicted an anteater in the style of The Great Masturbator. It was used as a bookplate for André Breton, who compared the temptations a man experiences in life to what "the tongue of the anteater must offer to the ant."

The 1940 Max Fleischer cartoon Ants in the Plants features a colony of ants fighting off a villainous anteater. Released during the Phoney War, the film may have alluded to France's Maginot Line. An anteater is also a recurring character in the comic strip B.C.. This character was the inspiration for Peter the Anteater, the University of California, Irvine team mascot. The Flash cartoon Happy Tree Friends features an anteater named Sniffles. In the Stephen King mini-series Kingdom Hospital, the character Antubis appears in the form of an anteater-like creature with razor sharp teeth.