LA SELVA-BRAULIO CARRILLO MAMMALS 149 



4 



In late 1978 or early 1979 McDade observed a large, dark animal at La Selva 

 that she believed was a giant anteater. She noted that it was at least 75 cm high 

 at the shoulders, had a very long and coarsely bushy tail, and had a flash of white 

 near the front legs. It was seen on the River Road Trail between the Quebrada 

 El Sura bridge and the old field station. She saw it on the trail and as it loped into 

 the forest (McDade, personal communication). The only other recent observation 

 of a giant anteater in Costa Rica was one seen near the Sirena field station at Parque 

 Nacional Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula. Boinski saw one at close range while 

 it foraged in maturing second growth forest in 1979 (Boinski, personal communica- 

 tion). On two or three other occasions she observed diggings in termite mounds 

 that she attributed to M. tridactyla. 



We know little about the original distribution and abundance of giant anteaters 

 in Costa Rica. The first, and one of the few, authors to mention giant anteaters 

 in the country was Alston (1879-82) who reported that they were considered rare 

 in Costa Rica and confined to the ' 'low hot forest lands near the coast. ' ' This species 



