The tree anteater that escaped from a zoo in Eibergen, Gelderland, last week was found on Saturday morning after five days. A beekeeper near the park saw the animal walking and tipped off the keepers.
“I am incredibly relieved,” says Tim Reimes on behalf of the zoo to NU.nl. He, along with a few others, had been searching all night when they suddenly received a call from the beekeeper in the morning.
“We went there immediately and indeed saw the tree anteater walking along the road. From then on, it went very smoothly,” says Reimes. He put the transport box down and the animal walked into it on its own. According to Reimes, it has been trained to do that.
At first glance, the tree anteater seems to be doing well. “Of course, we still have to see how it develops further, but the first signals are good.” The animal will remain in quarantine for the coming month and will therefore not be seen in the zoo yet.
The tree anteater escaped from the zoo of adventure park Hof van Eckberge on the night from Sunday to Monday. Since then, the animal has been intensively searched for, including with sniffer dogs and drones. Many people were also out and about in the area. “Everyone sympathized with us and many walkers and cyclists kept an eye out. We are very grateful for that.”
The keepers of the zoo were worried because a tree anteater can only survive in Dutch nature for a few days. Longer is not possible because the animal has a specific diet that is too little to be found in the Netherlands. The tree anteater eats termites, ants and honey. Its natural habitat is South America.
Hole dug in front yard
Last Tuesday, the tree anteater had dug a hole in someone’s front yard. “The animal probably smelled all the larvae and bumblebees in the garden,” said zoo director Maarten Reimes to NU.nl.
The animal is harmless to humans, but the zoo advised against touching the tree anteater. The director of the zoo called on people to contact him if they saw the animal.