48 SOME TOOTHLESS MAMMALS 



are often deceived by the remarkable protective coloring 

 of these animals. This is peculiarly true in the case of 

 one, bradypus, as the hair naturally has a grayish tone 

 that compares admirably with the bark of trees. Still 

 more remarkable, the long, coarse hair becomes cov- 

 ered with a minute plant, known as Chlorococctis, which 

 changes it to green, and the clinging animal has the 

 appearance of leaves or moss, and easily escapes obser- 

 vation. Even trained observers have been known to mis- 

 take the sloth for a clump of feathery mistletoe. 



The sloths seldom come to the ground unless forced to 

 do so. A Tobasco farmer informed Dr. Oswald that he 

 had kept a family of them under observation for eleven 

 years and had never seen one descend from its leafy 

 perch. Many rarely left the bough which they affected. 

 Seemingly helpless as are the sloths, they have been known 

 to throw themselves upon their backs and seize a dog, Ht- 

 erally tearing it in pieces. Ordinarily, however, no animal 

 is so utterly indifferent to the events occurring near it. It 

 is almost impossible to annoy one, the animal being a type 

 of all that is patient and negative, resembUng an autom- 

 aton more than anything else. At times they utter 

 petulant grunts, and in the tropical forest where they are 

 found sometimes a strange, mournful cry is heard, startling 

 in its intensity. 



The ant-eaters are among the strange animals from South 

 America that are utterly devoid of teeth. They are cov- 

 ered with enormous masses of hair, and provided with a 

 brushlike tail, and a very long tongue for sweeping up 

 ants. The first one I saw could easily have been mistaken 

 for a heap of brush, as it held its enormous tail (Fig. 34) 



