“Some years ago we had a foreign exchange student come to live with us. We found it very difficult to pronounce his name correctly, but he didn’t mind. He told us just to call him ‘Eric’. We had repainted the spare room, bought new rugs and furniture and generally made sure everything would be comfortable for him. So I can’t say why it was that Eric chose to sleep and study most of the time in our kitchen pantry. “It must be a cultural thing,” said Mum. “As long as he is happy.” We started storing food and kitchen things in other cupboards so we wouldn’t disturb him. But sometimes I wondered if Eric was happy; he was so polite that I’m not sure he would have told us if something bothered him. A few times I saw him through the pantry door gap, studying with silent intensity, and imagined what it might be like for him here in our country.” Link.

“An anteater with strong claws and a long, powerful, prehensile tail. Its coat is fawn to dark brown, and in some individuals from the south-eastern part of its range there is a black or dark brown ‘collar’ running from the shoulders to the rump. The nose and tail only have very short, sparse fur. As with other anteaters, the nose and jaws are very long, the ears and eyes small, and the tongue can be extended 40cm from the mouth. Tamanduas are solitary, active both during the day and the night, and spend a large proportion of their time in trees, using their long claws and prehensile tails for grip. The tail also acts as a prop on the ground, allowing the animal to stand on its hind legs and slash at attackers with its claws. They break open social insect nests with their claws, and then use their long sticky tongues to eat as many as they can very fast. They avoid solider ants or termites, and move on when the insects’ defences start to take action. They will also attack bees’ nests and feed on the grubs and honey.” Southern Tamandua@bbc.co.uk