Recently published details of two hunters killed in Brazil raise concerns of dangerous encounters with a rather odd adversary, the giant anteater.
The loss of their natural habitat leads to the growing risk of dangerous encounters with the hairy mammals, even thought they are not thought to be typically aggressive.
They are considered vulnerable animals due to deforestation and the encroachment of human settlements on their territory, reported Phys.org.
The details of the two dead hunters were released online this month in the Wilderness and Environmental Medicine journal.
“Both were farmers, were hunting and were attacked by wounded or cornered animals,” said lead author Vidal Haddad. He stressed that such attacks are rare, but said they are important because they show the need for people to give wild animals plenty of space.
The first farmer approached the anteater with a knife. The animal grabbed him with its forelimbs, causing deep puncture wounds. The man bled to death on the scene.
The second case involved a 75-year-old man who had his femoral arteries, in the thigh and groin, severed by the giant anteater’s front claws.
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