Photo by joelsartore | Meet Samba, a two-year-old northern tamandua at the Summit Municipal Park in Gamboa, Panama. This species' anatomy works to its advantage in its forest and scrub habitat, where it spends most of the day sleeping in trees then ventures onto the ground at night in search of food. Tamanduas have a long, prehensile (grasping) tail that can be used as an extra hand or foot while climbing trees. A specialized mouth and tongue allow these guys to consume up to 9,000 ants a day. And the purpose of that thick hair? To protect the tamanduas from being bitten by angry ants as they dine! To see more species featured in the Photo Ark follow me joelsartore. #tamandua #anteater #samba #longtail #bignose #animal #wildlife #animalphotography #wildlifephotography #studioportrait #PhotoArk