14 MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC WORLD 



of one pound. Until it is more than two months old it seems un- 

 able to maintain its body heat ; the skin becomes cold when the 

 mother is away from it. At two months the body length is only 

 nine inches, the eyes are still unopened, the beak is short, the 

 fur barely developing. At three months, the body length is thir- 

 teen inches, the eyes are fully open and alert, the bill straight 

 but still short, and the fur well developed except on the tail. 

 The animal can utter a shrill growl. Movement is still uncer- 

 tain and slow. At three and one-half months the body length is 

 thirteen and one-half inches, and the young animal can crawl 

 better. And at four months, although the body has grown no 

 longer, the baby can crawl actively and come out from the bur- 

 row to the water for its first swim and first food not provided by 

 its mother. In the wild state where conditions are less favorable 

 for the mother, the babies may be forced to leave the nest some- 

 what earlier, when they are smaller and less able to fend for 

 themselves. 



Spiny Anteaters. Family Tachyglossid^ 



These are heavy-bodied animals with the skins covered with 

 short, sharp spines mixed with hairs. They are almost tailless, 

 and with a snout so much elongated that they look like large, 

 beaked hedgehogs. Teeth are absent at all stages of develop- 

 ment. The eggs are carried and hatched in the pouch, not 

 placed in a nest as is done by the platypus. 



The Straight-beaked Spiny Anteater {Tachyglossus) has a 

 nearly bare snout, which is used for rooting and digging in soft 

 soil. The legs are powerful; the feet are furnished with long 

 digging claws, with which the animals can bury themselves in 

 the ground with astonishing speed. But it is stated that they 

 do not make tunnel-like burrows. Their color is brownish gray 

 with basal parts of the spines whitish. Their length is from 

 fifteen to twenty inches. 



The food consists mostly of termites but doubtless beetle 

 grubs and other soft-bodied insects are also eaten. They are 



