Walking with Anteaters - a Sunny Tamandua and friends!

Walking with Anteaters will be my topic where I will show my collection of anteaters (family Myrmecophagidae).
Giant anteaters are my favorite animals, but I will include other family members here even if there's no silky anteater figure and Southern and Northern tamanduas are almost indistinguishable.
As someone curious about the toy hobby and the different makers, since I started collecting, I wanted to collect giant anteaters, though, my knowledge was very limited and I thought 2 or three figures were ver released what would turn it into a boring collection. So, after some hesitations I decided to collect all foxe, they're much more common and much easier to find.
It is not as exaustive as my collection of foxes and  will present them by brand and daily what may e a little boring but easier for me.
It is planed to be finished in two weeks or a little more and at the end I may transform this topic into something similar to my foxes collection topic.
Pictures will be poor but I think it is the best moment to start it. I will reply to all questions and provide comparison pictures when requested.

I will start with two homemade anteaters.
A 19 cm giant anteater made by Harriet Knibbs (@HKHolinstone) , a wonderful surprise gift I received in 2011 as you can [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
First homemade figure in my colletion! Sorry for showing the other model with a few amputations, it is a tamandua, made by Agata ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]) in 2014. Unfortunately, my Agata's sculpts suffered a lot with these long moves , the clay used is probably of a lower quality and parts of a few models got broken or granulated. It is good to recall that Agata's figures were very affordable and they're very nice so this tamandua will stay proudly into my collection. maybe someday I will ask someone to restore it. Meanwhile, you can see [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
As a last note and considering the wide range of sizes among tamanduas, these two models can work at 1:10 scale. See you tomorrow!

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Cool topic, I love watching anteaters. The pose of the giant is great, I'm a bit surprised with the colour palette. Is this "just black & grey" coloration possible in real?

OK, I found this one

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Beautieful :)

This is a wonderful idea for a topic, especially now that anteaters are becoming like your foxes- it will be really interesting to see how many you have found in figure form!
Harriet's model is stunning, that must have been the most amazing gift! I love Agata's model too, so smooth and almost Japanese in style- and a fantastic species too! I'm looking forward to walking with more anteaters in this topic!

AAA released two giant anteater figures and I only have the baby or smaller model if you prefer. This is the Mamejo Nature version. I haven't bought the large 9,5 inches (23 cm) model because I thought it was too big for my collection. I may get it eventually.
This model is clearly a youngster even if we know sometimes AAA babies are used like smaller adult versions. It doesn't mention it is a baby, it is marked "GIANT ANTEATER" and it has number 2, if the large version is marked with number 1, we don't need more explanations to understand it is a baby. It was also marketed as a baby, by Mamejo Nature with the product number 96521 .
It is a 4 inches long figure (10 cm), calculating the scale of a youngster is not easy, however, it could be used with several large anteater figures representing different ages. I believe the large AAA is about 1:8 scale. If you want to use it as an adult, it may work for 1:18 scale but I do not recomend it.
As usual with AAA figures, it is made of a slightly softer pvc. It weighs 22g,

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spacelab wrote:

Cool topic, I love watching anteaters. The pose of the giant is great, I'm a bit surprised with the colour palette. Is this "just black & grey" coloration possible in real?

Here is a description of the standard colors layout but as you could find, there is some variability among specimens even if it is always around the same layout.

"The giant anteater’s coat is long and coarse. Mostly grey in color, it is marked on either side with a triangular black patch that rises from the animal’s throat to its shoulders. This dark patch is lined with white strips.
The giant anteater’s forelimbs are grey-white and marked with black ‘collars’ around the ankles. The anteater’s sides and hind limbs are dark grey, and its tail is brown and bushy."

Bonnie wrote:

This is a wonderful idea for a topic, especially now that anteaters are becoming like your foxes- it will be really interesting to see how many you have found in figure form!
Harriet's model is stunning, that must have been the most amazing gift! I love Agata's model too, so smooth and almost Japanese in style- and a fantastic species too! I'm looking forward to walking with more anteaters in this topic!

Thanks Bonnie, I know you'll never let my anteaters walk alone. I have a dog figure ready for a size comparison when oportune and you will know why.

I'll follow this topic with interest - I love anteaters though I've never had chance to know or even meet one in person, they've always been a favourite of mine!

The small version is rare :)

What a wonderful, rare AAA anteater! AAA is full of surprises, and have such a variety in style with some beautifully made models, and this is definitely one of them!
A dog figure for a size comparison, that is so exciting!

Looking forward to seeing all your anteaters. Anteaters were commonly produced by vintage companies (I don't know why), but perhaps they have lost some popularity amongst modern brands. They seem to be quite keen on them in Japan, as both Kaiyodo and Colorata made them.

Thanks everyone!

George wrote:

I'll follow this topic with interest - I love anteaters though I've never had chance to know or even meet one in person, they've always been a favourite of mine!

Lisbon Zoo has giant anteaters and I already had the chance of touching them. For more than I love them, I never tried a hug neither these kisses with tongue we see in movies.
It is good to have you following the topic, those are somewhat bizarre animals and a lot of artistic license was used but they always result wonderful. Sometimes I think a few anteater figures are somewhat horse inspired, maybe because they have mane and long tail, I don't know.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Looking forward to seeing all your anteaters. Anteaters were commonly produced by vintage companies (I don't know why), but perhaps they have lost some popularity amongst modern brands. They seem to be quite keen on them in Japan, as both Kaiyodo and Colorata made them.

Next presentation is dedicated to my faithful British collector friends and I will try to calculate scale based on your methods. You are absolutely right, I think almost all brands that produced commposition animals, released at least one figure. They're also relatively common as 1:32 scale plastic models. Modern brands are not so enthusiastic but there's the Japanese fashion as you mentioned although my collection is still poor in that department.

Britains Ltd released in 1965 a giant anteater in their 1:32 scale with the product number 1361 . It was available for 20 years. It is interesting that a lead version never existed as far as I know.
It is also tiny, my figure weighs 2g and it is traditionally considered too small for 1/32 scale. But is it really too small?
Giant anteaters can reach full lengths, including tail, between 180 cm and 220 cm. Converting it to 1:32 scale, we are talking about 56 mm to 69 mm. They are not taller than 70 cm (22 mm).
This figure measures 46 mm long but, if stretched, it could measure 53 mm, it is 17 mm tall.
Thus, we are talking about a 170 cm long animal and 55 cm tall. It is small indeed once it is under the provided range of sizes,  it works however for 1:35 scale as long as we are talking about a small specimen. In alternative, a non fully mature animal for 1:32 scale.  
I may take later a comparison picture with other 1:32 scale giant anteaters that are usually larger than this model.

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Here a comparison picture with the tiny Schleich squirrel monkey

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Lovely tiny figure

This is a beautiful figure, especially considering how tiny it is! So much detail at this scale!

Great to see the Britains anteater so soon in this topic. Let's try to make it 1:32 scale . This article by Gaudin et al. (2018) reports measurements of anteaters, referring to an earlier study by Wetzel (1985), which is unfortunately behind a paywall:  It reports the total length as 1,740–2,817 mm (5.4-8.8 cm in 1/32 scale). OK, the Britains is 1 mm too short, but it isn't far off, and he says that if he has to, he can stretch himself out a bit more .

I didn't have this figure when I was younger, but my brother had it. He called him "Meier", a misspelling of "mier", which means ant in Dutch. I was very happy to finally get one many years later when I started collecting animal figures.

Thanks Andreas, Bonnie and Roger.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Great to see the Britains anteater so soon in this topic. Let's try to make it 1:32 scale . This article by Gaudin et al. (2018) reports measurements of anteaters, referring to an earlier study by Wetzel (1985), which is unfortunately behind a paywall:  It reports the total length as 1,740–2,817 mm (5.4-8.8 cm in 1/32 scale). OK, the Britains is 1 mm too short, but it isn't far off, and he says that if he has to, he can stretch himself out a bit more .

I didn't have this figure when I was younger, but my brother had it. He called him "Meier", a misspelling of "mier", which means ant in Dutch. I was very happy to finally get one many years later when I started collecting animal figures.

You are our profesional scale calculator. These tiny figures are really hard to measure and data about the sizes is not always coerent.
I will use Meier to compare with other 54 mm scale models even if I just have a few.

wow, this is a very nice topic.

Marvellous homemade anteaters.

Thanks Fernando!
Colorata released at least two giant anteater figures. The first in 2006, here presented, part of the Colorata Endangered Animals Volume 1. There's a more recent model, released in 2019 and part of the Colorata Zoogeography Box Neotropical and Australian Regions .
Contrarily to other Japanese figures, this is not an asemblable model, only the base can be detached.
Colorata made a remarkable effort and released a figure with an accentuated educational purpose.
The base show a termitt mound that is basically the anteater's restaurant. The adult is sticking its tongue out and it is carrying a relatively large youngster.
It is larger than a traditiional gashapon figure, the base is 11 cm long. Hard to measure but I believe, if stretched, the adult would measure around 12 cm. It puts the model between 1:15 and 1:18 scale.
This model is a wonderful surprise gift from Maria ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]) that I received among many Kosta's gifts and I love it!

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Roger wrote:

These tiny figures are really hard to measure and data about the sizes is not always coherent.

Yes, it's often more complicated than we want it to be. I hope you are very interested in anteaters, because now comes a long exposition ... 

Wikipedia says that giant anteaters are between 182 and 217 cm in length, presumably total length. ADW says head and body length is 100-120 cm and tail length 65-90 cm, which corresponds to Wikipedia. I find that both websites are usually very good sources, but they generally don't say where they got the information from and occasionally they are wrong.

As I said, the article by Gaudin et al. (2018) that I mentioned refers to Wetzel (1985), who reports total length as 174-282 cm and tail length 65-90 cm. The minimum size corresponds approximately to that given by Wikipedia and ADW, so I believe that's probably about right. But the maximum length of 282 cm is much larger. So who is right?

Gaudin et al. also report measurements from Redford and Eisenberg (1992) and note that they reported a much smaller total length  between 110 and 200 cm. However, they also point out that the other external measurements were identical to Wetzel (1985). My suspicion is therefore that Redford and Eisenberg (1992) reported the head+body length rather than total length. The Redford and Eisenberg's head+body length is then very similar to the total length - tail length in Wetzel (1985). If that's the case, we have two reports that giant anteaters can be up to about 280 cm in total length.

I also found an article by Naples (1999, J. Zool., Lond.), who measured two adult giant anteaters. Their total body length, head length and tail length were respectively 138.5, 35, 83.8 cm for one specimen and 131, 33.8, 76.9 cm for another. They don't say how the lengths were measured, but I suspect that total body length means head+body, so that would make them 222 and 208 cm. This means that the largest is longer than the sizes given by Wikipedia and ADW. 

The sizes given by these articles are actual measurements, whereas we don't know where the measurements of Wikipedia and ADW come from, so I am tempted to conclude that giant anteaters can indeed reach lengths of up to 282 cm. It does mean that they have a very large size range (which still makes me a bit sceptical). If they can be so large, that means that quite a few so-called 1:32 scale giant anteaters are indeed 1:32 scale (I had previously rejected them).

How long is your friend in Lisbon Zoo?

Edit: The Colorata is very beautiful! The box that it came from is no longer in production and is hard to find nowadays.

One of the best figures of a anteater

I am SO glad to see this presentation and will be looking forward to it every day! So far each one is gorgeous and stunning my friend. :)

This is such a lovely model from a wonderful brand, as I've said before I love the Japanese style, always so detailed and precise but with a unique smooth feel to them! And how wonderful that it was a gift too!

She is cute. I have to admit I like the base because of the termite mound. Today there was a documentary on TV for anteaters and termites. An episode of Wild life Brazil. Poor termites...though they hate Ants more than Anteaters.

Thanks everyone! It is a joy to see my friends walking with my anteaters.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Roger wrote:

These tiny figures are really hard to measure and data about the sizes is not always coherent.

Yes, it's often more complicated than we want it to be. I hope you are very interested in anteaters, because now comes a long exposition ... 

Wikipedia says that giant anteaters are between 182 and 217 cm in length, presumably total length. ADW says head and body length is 100-120 cm and tail length 65-90 cm, which corresponds to Wikipedia. I find that both websites are usually very good sources, but they generally don't say where they got the information from and occasionally they are wrong.

As I said, the article by Gaudin et al. (2018) that I mentioned refers to Wetzel (1985), who reports total length as 174-282 cm and tail length 65-90 cm. The minimum size corresponds approximately to that given by Wikipedia and ADW, so I believe that's probably about right. But the maximum length of 282 cm is much larger. So who is right?

Gaudin et al. also report measurements from Redford and Eisenberg (1992) and note that they reported a much smaller total length  between 110 and 200 cm. However, they also point out that the other external measurements were identical to Wetzel (1985). My suspicion is therefore that Redford and Eisenberg (1992) reported the head+body length rather than total length. The Redford and Eisenberg's head+body length is then very similar to the total length - tail length in Wetzel (1985). If that's the case, we have two reports that giant anteaters can be up to about 280 cm in total length.

I also found an article by Naples (1999, J. Zool., Lond.), who measured two adult giant anteaters. Their total body length, head length and tail length were respectively 138.5, 35, 83.8 cm for one specimen and 131, 33.8, 76.9 cm for another. They don't say how the lengths were measured, but I suspect that total body length means head+body, so that would make them 222 and 208 cm. This means that the largest is longer than the sizes given by Wikipedia and ADW. 

The sizes given by these articles are actual measurements, whereas we don't know where the measurements of Wikipedia and ADW come from, so I am tempted to conclude that giant anteaters can indeed reach lengths of up to 282 cm. It does mean that they have a very large size range (which still makes me a bit sceptical). If they can be so large, that means that quite a few so-called 1:32 scale giant anteaters are indeed 1:32 scale (I had previously rejected them).

How long is your friend in Lisbon Zoo?

Edit: The Colorata is very beautiful! The box that it came from is no longer in production and is hard to find nowadays.

Intriguing, I think the most efficient way to determine the scale of a giant anteater is just taking the measures of the head plus body . I think measuring it from the top line, through the spine to the point where the tail starts must be the correct way. I don't know the size of my Lisbon friends, I don't see them already for a long time. They were for sure smaller than Labradors but larger than Beagles.
I think I have a figure that you eventually rejected once it seems to large for a 54mm scale but I will check it when its day arrives.

spacelab wrote:

She is cute. I have to admit I like the base because of the termite mound. Today there was a documentary on TV for anteaters and termites. An episode of Wild life Brazil. Poor termites...though they hate Ants more than Anteaters.

Yes, actually giant anteaters just make a kind of population control once they spend a short time in each mound and the colony regenerates easily. Thus, they warrant the restaurants will be open for a long time.