ROD THOMPSON / RTHOMPSON@STARBULLETIN.COM
Spike the anteater explored his enclosure at Hilo's Panaewa Rainforest Zoo yesterday following a celebration of his first birthday Saturday. The zoo is preparing to obtain a girlfriend for him from Florida named Penny Ant-E.
Zoo anteater
turns 1 year oldThe Big Isle animal gets
a birthday note from UC-Irvine,
whose mascot is the anteater
HILO >> Saturday's birthday party for 1-year-old Spike was modest, but he did get a nice gift.
Spike is a giant anteater at Hilo's Panaewa Rainforest Zoo, and his gift was a log that was old, rotten and full of termites.
"What else do you get an anteater that has everything?" asked part-time Big Island resident Mel Kernahan.
Mel is the wife of Galal Kernahan, 78, a former newspaperman, university professor and civil defense director who feels Spike's birthday is a good time for fund raising to get a girlfriend for the anteater.
Friends of the Panaewa Zoo is accepting donations, although the exact amount needed was not immediately available. Donations can be sent to the organization at P.O. Box 738, Keaau, HI 96749.
A 4-month-old female anteater in Florida named Penny Ant-E is promised to Spike when she is old enough. She is so young now, she still spends most of her time riding on her mother's back.
Anteaters do not mature until they are 2 years old. They prefer to live alone most of their lives, which can last up to 26 years in captivity.
Spike's fans extend all the way to the University of California at Irvine, whose mascot is an anteater.
When Kernahan told Irvine Assistant Vice Chancellor Juan Francisco Lara about Spike's birthday, Lara sent an official university message offering Spike a hearty "feliz cumpleanos," or "happy birthday" in Spanish.
Since giant anteaters come from Central and South America, Lara figured Spike probably speaks Spanish.
"Zot," the "B.C." comic strip's sound of an anteater's 16-inch tongue slurping ants, is so entrenched at Irvine that even campus phone numbers are listed in "zot-code," Kernahan said.
An anteater as a mascot might not be as ludicrous as it sounds.
Kernahan noted that anteaters can be fast and dangerous. They can "gallop" up to 30 miles an hour and, when threatened, sit back and strike with their claws, normally used for tearing up ant nests.
But, Kernahan joked, Spike is above that. "He's got a lot of poise."
