The genus name is derived from the word tamandûá in Tupi[3] first recorded by Joseph of Anchieta in his Epistola quam plurimarum rerum naturalium quae S. Vicentii (nunc S. Pauli) provinciam incolunt sistens descriptionem (1560); ta- in tamãdu'á is deduced from taixi "ant" and the other half from mondé "to catch", mondá "thief" or monduár "hunter".

[5] Their fur is thick, bristly, yellowish-white to fawn in color, often with a broad black lateral band, covering nearly the whole of the side of their bodies.

[6] Tamanduas are nocturnal, active at night and secreting away in hollow tree trunks and burrows abandoned by other animals during daylight hours.

They smear the strong-smelling secretions on rocks, trees, fallen logs, and other prominent landmarks to announce their presence to other tamanduas.

[7] When threatened while in the trees, the tamandua will firmly grasp the branch with its hind limbs and tail and rear up to confront its attacker with slashing motions of its large, curved claws.

They use their sharp claws and powerful forearms to tear open the nest of a colony of termites and employ their elongated tongues, coated with sticky saliva, to extract the insects.

[8][9] Tamanduas are also used occasionally by Amazonian Native Tribes as a form of biological pest control, utilizing them to rid their dwellings of termites and ants.