A perfect forest vagabond, the ant-bear has no den to retire to, nor any fixed abode; his immense tail is large enough to cover his whole body, and serves him as a tent during the night, or as a waterproof mantle against the rains of the wet season, so that he might boast, like Diogenes, of carrying all he required about him.
The peculiar position of his paws, when he walks or stands, is worthy of notice. He goes entirely on the outer side of his fore-feet, which are quite bent inwards, the claws collected into a point and going under the foot. In this position he is quite at ease, while his long claws are disposed of in a manner to render them harmless to him, and are prevented from becoming dull and worn, which would inevitably be the case did their points come in actual contact with the ground, for they have not that retractile power which is given to animals of the feline race, enabling them to preserve the sharpness of their claws on the most flinty path. In consequence of its resting perpetually on the ground, the whole outer side of the foot is hard and callous, while, on the contrary, the inner side of the bottom of the foot is soft and hairy.
Besides the great ant-bear, there are two other species of American ant-eaters, one nearly the size of a fox, and the smallest not much larger than a rat. Being provided with prehensile tails, they are essentially arboreal, while the great ant-bear, incapable of climbing, always remains on the ground, where, thanks to the abundance of his prey, he is always sure of obtaining a sufficient supply of food, with very little trouble.
The Manides, and Pangolins, of South Africa and Asia, resemble the ant-eaters of America in having a very long extensile tongue, furnished with a glutinous mucus for securing their insect food, and in being destitute of teeth; but completely differ from them in having the whole body covered with a panoply of large imbricated scales, overlapping each other like those of the lizard tribes, and also in being able to roll themselves up when in danger, by which their trenchant scales become erect, and present a formidable defensive armour of wonderful hardness, so that even the tiger would vainly attempt to overcome the Indian Pangolin.
The manides are inoffensive animals, living wholly on ants and termites, and chiefly inhabit the most obscure parts of the forest, burrowing in the ground to a great depth, for which purpose, as also for extracting their food from ant-hills and decaying wood, their feet are armed with powerful claws, which they double up in walking, like the ant-bear of Brazil.
AARD VARK.
Besides several species of manides, Africa possesses a peculiar class of ant-eaters in the Aard varks, or Earth-hogs (Orycteropi), thus called from their extraordinary powers of excavation and their fancied resemblance to small short-legged pigs. Such is the strength of their prodigious claws that they easily tear to pieces the clay-built domes of the termites; which, though so solid as to be capable of bearing the weight of many men on their summits, are unable to resist the destructive labours of the Aard vark. Towards evening the animal issues from its burrow, and roaming over the plains, searches for an ant-hill in full operation. A breach is soon made in the strong walls of the citadel, and as the unfortunate termites run hither and thither in consternation, like the inmates of a beleaguered city whose ramparts are crumbling under the enemy’s artillery, the author of this confusion flings his glutinous tongue among them and sweeps them into his mouth by hundreds. The Aard varks abound all over the sultry plains of torrid Africa, but owing to their great burrowing powers the capture of a living specimen is attended with the greatest difficulty; the claws being instruments of excavation with which the spade is unable to compete. Unless disturbed, however, and forced to dig deeper through fear of capture, the Aard vark, being averse to unnecessary trouble, makes but a shallow burrow—sufficiently deep, however, not seldom to cause the wheels of a waggon to sink into it, or to prove a treacherous pitfall to a hunter in full chase.
The American Armadillos have many points in common with the Manides. They have neither fore nor canine teeth, but a number of conical grinders, and are distinguished by having the upper parts of their bodies defended by a complete suit of armour, divided into joints or bands, folding one over the other like the parts of a lobster’s tail, so as to accommodate themselves to all the motions of the animal. In life, this shell is very limber, so that the armadillo is able to go at full stretch, or to roll himself up into a ball as occasion may require. These animals are very common both in the forests and in the open plains of South America, where they reside in subterranean homes which they have dug with their powerful fore-limbs. They are seldom seen abroad during the day, and when surprised are sure to be near the mouth of their holes; but after sunset they sally forth in search of roots, grain, worms, insects, and other small animals, and when disturbed, coil themselves up in their armour like the hedgehog, or squat close to the ground, or escape by digging into the earth, a work which they perform with masterly dexterity. So fast indeed do they excavate that if a horseman sees one of these animals, he must almost tumble from his steed if he wishes to capture the active creature. And when he has seized it he must be cautious not to come into contact with its feet, or he will suffer severe wounds from the powerful claws with which they are armed.
The family of the armadillos has been subdivided into numerous genera and species, distinguished from each other by the number of their shelly bands, their teeth, and their toes. They might also be conveniently divided into two tribes, the one with a long and conical tail, the other with a short caudal appendage, formed like a club. They differ greatly in size, for while the giant armadillo (Priodontes gigas) is at least four feet long from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail, the Pichiciago (Chlamyphorus truncatus), which inhabits the province of Mendoza in the Andes, and is remarkable for its mole-like propensities, passing the greatest part of its life underground, scarcely measures six inches in length.