Why do anteaters have long noses?
For grown-ups: the science
Anteaters have long noses to smell insect nests and reach their sticky tongues inside for ants and termites.
Anteaters have elongated snouts that house an extended nasal passage and support a long, specialized tongue. Their strong sense of smell helps locate ants and termites, while their narrow heads and long tongues help them feed in nests and tunnels.
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Transcript
An anteater is sniffing near a bumpy ant nest. Why is its nose so long?
Its long snout can reach into small cracks in ant and termite nests. That helps it find food hiding deep inside.
The anteater uses its strong claws to open the nest a little. Then its long, sticky tongue slips in and picks up insects.
Its narrow snout also holds a great nose for smelling. It can sniff out insect nests before it starts digging.
So, an anteater's long nose helps it smell, reach, and eat tiny insects.