Mo Ganji: Giant Ant Eater | Riesen Ameisenbär | Myrmecophaga tridactyla | No. 083/250 from work group 8/99

Giant Ant Eater | Riesen Ameisenbär | Myrmecophaga tridactyla

Mo Ganji’s single line considers the Giant anteater — a large terrestrial mammal with an elongated snout and sweeping tail adapted to a highly specialised way of feeding — through a gesture of reduction that foregrounds presence over description. The continuous line offers a restrained indication of form, enough to suggest a being while remaining open to other readings. By removing what is superfluous, the drawing allows essence to surface before the figure is fixed within a familiar category.

Myrmecophaga tridactyla is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List. Native to Central and South America, the species inhabits savannas, grasslands and forest edges, relying on large territories and abundant ant and termite populations. Across much of its range, numbers have declined steadily over recent decades.

The main threats include habitat loss and fragmentation from agriculture and infrastructure development, wildfires, road mortality, and hunting. Because giant anteaters have low reproductive rates and require extensive, connected landscapes, populations recover slowly once disrupted. Increasing pressure on open habitats further constrains their long-term survival.

Ganji’s single line allows the anteater to be encountered beyond its unusual anatomy or ecological role. It opens a moment in which the being appears as a concentrated presence, inviting reflection on how human systems reshape the ground other lives depend upon — and how the belief in standing outside nature obscures our participation in the same fragile landscapes we continue to transform.