I've previously written about the glorious ASMR videos starring King Bumi, a long-snouted, toothless, bushy-tailed, coarse-haired giant anteater who lives at the North Florida Wildlife Center in Lamont, Florida, a nonprofit rehabilitation and education center whose focus is on caring for rare and endangered species. But I recently stumbled upon a new video of Bumi keeping cool in absolutely peak style, and had to share! Behold King Bumi whipping his tongue back and forth as he frolics in the sprinkler. His impossibly long tongue even resembles a helicopter at times, twirling away in the water's spray. He sure knows how to beat the sweltering summer heat and stay cool and refreshed — we could all take a cue from him!
Giant anteaters like King Bumi have tongues that are about two feet long. These super long and sticky tongues help them to reach deep into burrows to snack on ants, termites, and other favorite insects. A-Z Animals explains that giant anteaters consume up to 30,000 ants and termites a day, which is kind of mind-blowing. The Lincoln Children's Zoo also states that giant anteaters are capable of moving their tongues amazingly fast — they can flick their tongues in and out of their mouths 150 to 160 times per minute — that's more than twice per second!
This frenzied tongue flicking comes in handy when they're devouring ants out of a mound, of course, but it's also perfect for enjoying every second of water blasting on them from a sprinkler. And it's also hilarious to watch. It's a win-win for all!
King Bumi recently turned five years old, and in addition to being treated to a refreshingly cold birthday shower, he was also lucky enough to feast on a scrumptious celebratory dinner of hard-boiled eggs, mealworms, and bananas! What a terrific way to celebrate a birthday!
See more videos of King Bumi on North Florida Wildlife Center's Facebook or Instagram, including this one where he's munching on crunch beetle larvae, and this one which shows what Bumi's tongue looks like from the point of view of an ant that's about to be eaten!
Previously:
• Giant anteater ASMR might be the very best animal ASMR
• Watch Tammy the giant anteater slurping up food with her 2-foot-long tongue
• Move over, Purdue peanut butter man, and make way for our new tamandua peanut butter queen!
• This adorable anteater pup was recently born at the Los Angeles Zoo
