Your morning adorable: Baby southern tamandua takes a ride on mom’s back

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Meet Tae, a female southern tamandua, and her 3-month-old baby, Konbu. The two tamanduas are residents of Tokyo’s Sunshine International Aquarium and were photographed taking a stroll this morning.

Young tamanduas like Konbu spend most of their time riding on their mothers’ backs (although the babies are sometimes ‘deposited on a safe branch while the mother forages,’ according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology). Southern tamanduas are members of the anteater family and are sometimes called lesser anteaters or collared anteaters. They’re native to the rain forests, scrubland and savannas of South America.

More photos after the jump!

-- Lindsay Barnett