Thursday Trivia!

Here's another question about the Santa Ana Zoo and an animal that lives there .  Learn all kinds of fun facts and what to see when you visit the Zoo!

Here's your question for March 18:

Which of the following statements is not True?

a.)  There are less than 100 Giant Anteaters in North American zoos

b.)  A Giant Anteater's tongue can go in and out of its mouth 150 times a minute

c.)  Giant Anteaters are afraid of water.

d.)  The tongue of a Giant Anteater is 2 feet long

In just a couple weeks, we'll be opening our newest exhibit, the "Tierra de las Pampas".  It's an exhibit that recognizes and celebrates one of the most endangered habitats in the world, the South American grasslands.

One of the important and exciting features of this new exhibit is that it contains a Giant Anteater breeding program.  With the destruction of their native habitat and so few zoos able to help conserve them, this program will be an important part of the species conservation.

(*Hint - Find most of the answers on the Santa Ana Zoo website at www.santaanazoo.org)

If you can find the answer to the question above, Tweet us at  Santa Ana Zoo's Twitter
Remember to pick the statement that is NOT true.
We'll play for a family pass to the Zoo (admission for 4 people), and will take 3 winners today.

Good Luck!

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Let's see what the answer is... 

a.)There are less than 100 Giant Anteaters in North American zoos

Actually, this is true.  Wikipedia (verified by the National Zoo) indicates that there are only about 90 Giant Anteaters registered to zoos in North America.

b.)  A Giant Anteater's tongue can go in and out of its mouth 150 times a minute

This is true.  It's tongue is covered in sticky saliva that traps ants and termites, and it can eat around 30,000 insects a day. 

c.)  Giant Anteaters are afraid of water.

Not so much, this is false.  Anteaters do spend most of their time on land, but are excellent swimmers, and the ones at the Santa Ana Zoo actually enjoy playing in the water.

d.)  The tongue of a Giant Anteater is 2 feet long

This is true.  The Giant Anteater's tongue is about 24 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide.  When they get up from their nap, they often stretch and extend their tongue to its full length.

Thanks, everyone, for playing along, and we hope you learned a thing or two about some of our newest residents.

Plan to come visit them when the exhibit opens on April 17.

Congratulations to our winners!

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Stay tuned for more Trivia coming every Thursday, and thanks for following the Santa Ana Zoo on Twitter!