A new species discovered in the Aigronne Valley.

I was busy working outside the other day and noticed strange activity in some short grass next to the bief.

The main sound was a sort of snuffling sound, so I walked over to investigate....

We had an anteater come to visit... and I don't mean the Green Woodpecker either.
It was a Black Anteater [Timandmea tetradcattongyla].

On a side note, I saw the female Green Woodpecker having difficulty in these claggy conditions.
I was watching her feeding and when she stopped, she had gained the biggest Roman nose I'd ever seen.
It would have suited a Raven.... she spent the next ten minutes hammering, then wiping, her beak clean on a post.
But, I digress....

Yes, there was an anteater at work at the side of the bief...
Its long sticky tongue was clearing the disturbed ants from the grass stems around the snuffled hole.

These are the ants.

It was an amazing sight... as the supply of ants ran out the beast either dug or snuffled to disturb more.
It was so busy feeding, that it wasn't at all worried by my attempts to get these pictures.

There's a lucky [for now] ant on the left...

It was probably an escape from a zoo somewhere....
or possibly an escaped pet...
I suppose I should have reported it....
but it seemed so happy in its work....
and we do have too many ants here.

The ants were climbing all over the animal, but it didn't seem to worry...

Ants on the animal's fur.

It could be very useful having one around.... the ants here are just too numerous to control...
and yet...



I don't know...

should I report it?


 No... I'll leave it be... let it do its own thing!

 

If you haven't guessed it yet, our big tomcat has developed a new addiction... ANTS!

Nose down hole, huff and puff a bit and the ants come running to defend their nest...

I've never seen a cat do this before... but it isn't a one off thing, he's doing it all the time...
"Cats on Acid"... now there's a thing!

.... and a few licks and down they go!!

Wierd habit or what?