The giant anteater is a large mammal - often reaching 2m in length and weighing up to 40kg. Highly territorial, especially when rearing its young, the giant anteater faces numerous threats through loss of habitat, both because of human encroachment for agriculture and through wildfires, poaching, and road death.

This study will compare anteater populations within the Emas National Park and in the surrounding farmland, to establish which factors are most likely to affect them, and so contribute to a sustainable management plan for the species. The farmland neighbouring the National Park is partly given over to soy plantations which require extensive human management and are subject to many alterations of the natural environment such as vegetation removal, use of fertilisers and pest controls: this contrasts with the other main land use, cattle farming, which involves little human impact. Using techniques such as radio telemetry, the study will focus on whether the anteaters can move across these various ecosystems and will seek to identify which environmental factors most affect the populations' status.