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The giant anteater is a large insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteater and is classified with sloths in the order Pilosa. This species is mostly terrestrial, in contrast to other living anteaters, which are arboreal or semi-arboreal. It is the largest of its family, stretching 182–217 cm (5.97–7.12 ft) and weighing 33–41 kg (73–90 lb) for males and 27–39 kg (60–86 lb) for females. It is recognizable by its elongated snout, bushy tail, long foreclaws and distinctively colored pelage. The anteater's habitats include grassland and rainforest and it feeds primarily on ants and termites, using its foreclaws to dig them up and its long, sticky tongue to collect them. The giant anteater is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Threats to its survival include habitat destruction and hunting. The anteater has been featured in pre-Columbian myths and folktales, and modern popular culture. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Eurasian beaver with her kit

... that beavers (examples pictured) in the Czech Republic built dams that saved the government US$1.2 million?
... that Terraria was released earlier than planned because a beta version of the game was leaked to the public?
... that although Nora Helmer was subject to extensive controversy upon her 1879 debut, she is now considered a focal point in analysis of gender roles?
... that US general Tommy Franks reportedly did not have time to become an expert on the Danish Air Force?
... that Tribuna da Imprensa was shut down in 2001 after losing a lawsuit over an article that referred to a judge as "PC Salomão"?
... that Javanese rebel leader Diponegoro partly blamed his sexual infidelity for his defeat at the Battle of Gawok?
... that basketball player Barry Leibowitz, despite being drafted by the New York Knicks and playing in the ABA, chose to play in Israel instead because of its sea, hummus, and tahini?
... that the filmmakers of 100 Litres of Gold brewed 20 litres of sahti at the Finnish embassy in Rome for its premiere?
... that after being ousted by the Southern Transitional Council, the governor of the Socotra Archipelago fled to Oman and continued to govern through WhatsApp?

In the news

Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea's Constitutional Court removes Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured) as the president of South Korea, following his earlier declaration of martial law.
US president Donald Trumpov announces trade tariffs on most countries.
Marine Le Pen, the runner-up in the 2017 and 2022 French presidential elections, is convicted of embezzlement and banned from standing in elections for five years.
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake leaves more than 4,300 people dead in Myanmar and Thailand.

On this day

April 5: Feast day of Saint Vincent Ferrer (Catholicism)

Pocahontas

919 – The Fatimid Caliphate began a second unsuccessful invasion of Egypt, then under Abbasid rule.
1614 – Pocahontas (pictured), a Native American woman, married English colonist John Rolfe, leading to a period of peace between the Powhatan people and the inhabitants of Jamestown, Virginia.
1944 – Siegfried Lederer, a Czech Jew, escaped from Auschwitz with the aid of an SS officer who opposed the Holocaust.
1986 – The Libyan secret service bombed a discotheque in West Berlin, resulting in three deaths and 229 others injured.
2009 – The North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 was launched from the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and passed over Japan, sparking concerns it may have been a trial run of technology that could be used to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.

al-Nuwayri (b. 1279)
Thure de Thulstrup (b. 1848)
Marie-Rosalie Cadron-Jetté (d. 1864)
Judith Resnik (b. 1949)

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Today's featured picture

Nadar (born Gaspard-Félix Tournachon; 5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910) was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloonist, and proponent of heavier-than-air flight. In 1858, he became the first person to take aerial photographs, and during the Siege of Paris in 1870–71, he established the first airmail service. In 1863, Nadar commissioned the prominent balloonist Eugène Godard to construct an enormous balloon, 60 metres (196 ft) high and with a capacity of 6,000 m³ (210,000 cu ft), named Le Géant (The Giant). For publicity, he recreated balloon flights in his studio with his wife, Ernestine, using a rigged-up balloon gondola. This self-portrait of Nadar in a balloon basket was taken c. 1863.

Photograph credit: Nadar; restored by Adam Cuerden

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