Re-introduction of the giant anteater in Iberá nature reserve, Corrientes, Argentina

Abstract

The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is a widely distributed neotropical species, listed as “Vulnerable” in both the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the Argentinean Red List. Across its range it occupies diverse habitat types including grasslands, savannas and forests, where it feeds on ants and termites. Several authors refer to the historical presence of giant anteaters in Corrientes Province and its extinction around the middle of the 20th century due to a combination of widespread commercial/subsistence hunting and a cattle ranching tradition based on the frequent use of fires and dogs. The Iberá Nature Reserve (INR) is a 13,000 km2 multiple use protected area that includes a diverse mosaic of marshlands, open grasslands, savannas and small forests. When INR was established in 1983, provincial park-rangers started to enforce hunting prohibitions, remnant wildlife populations recovered, and several authors proposed the re-introduction of extirpated fauna. Following this recommendation, in 2006 the government of Corrientes and CLT started the first world-wide experience aimed to restore an extinct population of giant anteaters. Within the private properties included inside INR, The Conservation Land Trust (CLT) holds 1,500 km2 of private reserves dedicated to nature conservation and ecological restoration.