LONDON, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Oso, the rare and unusual giant anteater, has arrived at Britain's Chester Zoo after being selected as the perfect love-match for the zoo's resident female, Bliss.
With giant anteaters vulnerable to extinction keepers hope their "marriage arranging" exercise will see Oso hit it off with Bliss and go on to produce pups.
Giant anteaters grow to two meters in length, are toothless and eat up to 30,000 ants a day, using their 60-centimeter long tongues.
Four-year-old Oso has arrived at Chester Zoo from a zoo in England's Lake District as part of a European endangered species breeding program after being identified by matchmakers as the perfect companion for Bliss.
Oso will be slowly introduced to his new companion by the zoo's expert team of keepers after being selected as an ideal genetic pairing. Staff hope the duo will get along famously and produce young in the future.
Tim Rowlands, Curator of Mammals at Chester Zoo, said: "Oso is a very important giant anteater as males are scarce in the European breeding program. His genetic makeup is vital to the future conservation breeding of the species and hopefully, in time, he'll hit it off with female Bliss and they'll go on to have pups."
Giant anteaters, which are native to Central and South America, are classed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. They are threatened on both continents where much of the grassland they depend on to survive has been destroyed. In some areas of Brazil where they once roamed freely there are now none left.
Research supported by the zoo points to another major factor in the demise of giant anteaters - road deaths.
Cat Barton, the zoo's Field Conservation Manager, said: "Through a project titled Anteaters and Highways, our partners in Brazil are carrying out vital research to assess the impact of road deaths on giant anteaters over thousands of miles of roads. Such a high number of road kills have been recorded that it's now presumed one of the main threats to the species after habitat loss.
"In many areas there are negative superstitions about them, all of which are affecting their survival. Surveys are also therefore being carried out to understand motorists' perceptions and attitude towards the species.
"Our work with the giant anteaters at the zoo and our support for conservation projects in the wild are critical to understanding more about this wonderful animal and to protecting future generations."