Nashville Zoo Welcomes Giant Anteater Pup Mateo

The male pup, born September 17, is the first giant anteater born at the zoo in five years.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Wildlife

Giant anteater with a long snout standing in a green enclosure while a small pup rides on its back under soft overcast daylight. — Nashville Zoo welcomed a male giant anteater pup named Mateo on September 17, the 27th pup born since its breeding program began in 2001. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Nashville Zoo welcomed a male giant anteater pup named Mateo, born September 17. He weighs just over four pounds and is the 27th pup born at the Zoo since its breeding program was founded in 2001.

Why it matters

The birth adds to the Nashville Zoo's breeding work with a species that has few individuals in human care. The Zoo reports it holds the largest collection of giant anteaters in human care in the country.

Mateo weighs just over four pounds and is the 27th pup born at the Zoo since the breeding program began in 2001. His mother, Isbel, is one of nine giant anteaters in the Zoo's care.

The players

Nashville Zoo

A Nashville, Tennessee zoo that runs a giant anteater breeding program and cares for the largest collection of the species in human care in the United States.

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

A professional accreditation organization that coordinates Species Survival Plan breeding programs among member institutions.

The details

Mateo was born September 17 and rides on his mother's back, a behavior giant anteater pups display immediately after birth. The Zoo participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan breeding program.

2001: The Zoo's giant anteater breeding program is founded.
September 17: Mateo is born at Nashville Zoo.
Five years before Mateo's birth: the last giant anteater pup was born at the Zoo.

Culture Shift

Mateo's birth reflects coordinated, multi-zoo breeding under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan rather than isolated captive breeding efforts. Programs like this have made zoos central to managing species with small populations in human care.

Nashville residents can see the pup and its mother at the Zoo's anteater exhibit, which houses the largest collection of giant anteaters in human care in the country. Visits to the Zoo support its breeding and conservation programs.