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25-year-long study reveals giant anteaters alter behaviour due to rising temperatures

A 25-year camera-trap study reveals that giant anteaters change their behaviour to cope with rising temperatures, according to conservationists.

Researchers, who conducted the largest-ever study on this species, found that the giant anteaters alter their activity patterns in response to higher temperatures in savannas, becoming increasingly active during cooler nighttime hours.

The study found that the species is more common in tropical savannas with patches of forest than in continuous rainforest, emphasising the need to protect the Amazon rainforest and the threatened savannas where the species thrives.

It also suggested that forest patches provide essential thermal refuges that allow the giant anteaters to cope with heat, highlighting their potential importance under future climate warming.