Sniffy Wins by a Nose

The giant anteater born at the Dallas Zoo on Sept. 28, 2006, finally has a name, thanks to Juanita Peredisabofa. Sniffy is the name she submitted in the baby anteater-naming contest sponsored by the Dallas Zoological Society. The panel of judges selected this name from 725 entries received from all over the Metroplex and as far away as Mississippi and Alabama.
          “We are delighted that so many people participated in the contest,” said Michael L. Meadows, president and chief executive officer of DZS. “It was a fun way to share our happy news with the public and let them play a role in naming our new anteater.”
          The baby anteater is the offspring of Punkin, the mother, and Hoover, the father. Zoo officials recently conducted a “well-baby” exam and determined that the newest addition to the Dallas Zoo is a male. Sniffy is the first giant anteater born at the Zoo.
“I read the newspaper online every morning and saw the story about the anteater,” said Ms. Peredisabofa. “It just looked like a ‘Sniffy’ so I entered that name.” The 56-year-old grandmother, who works in tech support for Jet Pay Credit Card Processing LLC, said she never expected to win.
          Giant anteaters are native to the savannas and open woodlands of South America. They can weigh from 60 to 80 pounds and grow to be about 6 to 8 feet in length with most of that the tail. Their tongues are about 2 feet long, and they have no teeth. An excellent sense of smell makes up for their poor-to-average vision and hearing. The average anteater in the wild can eat 35,000 ants in a single day. Sniffy will likely ride on his mother’s back for almost a year, or until mom becomes pregnant again. At that time, he will be almost full-grown.

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