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TUCSON - Today we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the anteater, or tamandua, exhibit, at the Reid Park Zoo.

Tamandua is a genus of anteaters. It has two members: the Southern Tamandua and the Northern Tamandua. They live in forests and grasslands, are semi-arboreal and possess partially prehensile tails. They mainly eat ants and termites, but they occasionally eat bees, beetles, and insect larvae. In captivity, they will eat fruits and meat. They have no teeth and depend on their powerful gizzard to break down their food.

The Northern Tamandua ranges from southeastern Mexico south throughout Central America, and in South America west of the Andes from northern Venezuela to northern Peru. Southern Tamanduas are found from Venezuela and Trinidad to northern Argentina, southern Brazil and Uruguay.

Jed Dodds of the Reid Park Zoo took us on the tour and even introduced us to the newest member of the tamandua family, baby Quito.