396 



THE TOOTHLESS AXLMALS. 



liquely downward from the surface to the depth of 

 from two to four yards, and terminate in a large, 

 roomy chamber. In this retreat they live in couples, 

 and are found from January to March with one or 

 two young. When they are in their hole they are 

 wont to stop up the entrance with earth in a way 

 which would render it quite difficult to discover 

 their lair if their queer tracks outside did not be- 

 tray them. Burt says that the Pangolin feeds ex- 

 clusively on Ants and like insects and destroys a 

 great many of them, but that it can also endure 

 hunger for two months; that it roams about at night, 

 and is very restless in captivity; that it is quite 

 quick in its movements, and when attacked, quietly 

 suffers itself to be taken up by the tail without the 

 least attempt at defending itself against an enemy, 

 etc. The Chinese manufacture a defensive armor 

 out of its skin. 



in its habits like that animal, it emerges only after 

 dusk, and as it is neither agile nor fleet, it cannot 

 defend itself against enemies. Ants, Termites, Lo- 

 custs, Beetles and perhaps also worms constitute 

 its food. 



TEMMINCK'S PANGOLIN. A very queer form of animal life is shrrtvn here in tins African creature. Tht 



strength of the armor, the strong legs and claws, and above all the remarkably, long and heavy tail which are the ani 

 mal's chief characteristics, are brought out in accurate completeness. {M.niis temminckii.) 



Peculiarities of A proportionatelv short, broad tail, 



the Temminck's bluntly rounded at the tip, charac- 

 Pangoim. terizes Temminck's Pangolin {Mariis 

 temminckii). In size and shape it assimilates most 

 closely its Indian relative. The tail which attains 

 nearly the length of the body does not decrease in 

 size for the greater portion of its length, and begins 

 to taper at a point near the tip, where it suddenly 

 becomes rounded and abruptly cut off. The body 

 is broad and the head is short and thick. Ovoid 

 scales cover the head; the rest of the scales are 

 very large, marked with fine, longitudinal furrow's 

 at the base and smooth at the apex, and arranged 

 in from eleven to thirteen rows on the back, five on 

 the tail and four behind. Adult males attain a total 

 length of thirty-two inches or thereabouts, the tail 

 occupying some twelve inches of this length. This 

 species chiefly inhabits eastern and southern Africa, 

 but is also found in the west. 



The Habits of the The Abu-Khirfa or Father of Cattle, 

 Temminck's as the nomads of Kordofan call 

 Pangolin. Temminck's Pangolin, finds suffi- 

 cient nourishment and the desired solitude in the 

 steppes of Africa abounding in Termites. Holes 

 in the earth form its domicile; but it never buries 

 itself as deeply as does the Aard-vark. Nocturnal 



FIFTH FAniLY: Orvcteropodid.e. 



The last family comprises the Aard-varks, clumsy 

 animals, endowed with a stout, short body, sparsely 

 covered with thin bristles, a thin neck, a long, slen- 

 der head, a cylindrical snout, a conical tail of mod- 

 erate length, and short, proportionately thin legs; 

 the fore-feet have four toes, the hinder feet five, the 

 toes being armed with strong, nearly straight, flat, 

 hoof-like nails with chisel-shaped edges. The mouth 

 is rather large, the eyes 

 = deep-set in the head, the 

 '. Is Iff' , y cars are very long. The 

 upper jaw of a young 

 animal contains eight 

 teeth on each side, the 

 lower jaw six. Adult ani- 

 mals, however, usually 

 have only five, and some- 

 times four teeth on each 

 side, of a cylindrical 

 shape, rootless, fibrous 

 and composed of a great 

 number of fine tubes; the 

 grinding surface is flush 

 with the external edges 

 of the teeth, but the op- 

 posite or basal end is 

 hollow. 



The Aard-vark ( Oryc- 

 teropus capensis) attains a 

 total length of nearly six 

 feet, the tail including 

 about thirty-four inches 

 of this total. The weight 

 is from one hundred to 

 one hundred and twenty 

 pounds. The skin is very thick, sparsely covered 

 with smooth, bristly hair, shorter on the upper parts 

 of the body than on the under surface; at the base of 

 the toes the hair forms tufts. The coloring of the 

 animal is quite uniform. Back and flanks are yel- 

 lowish brown, dashed with red; the under-surface 

 and the head are light reddish yellow; the buttocks, 

 root of tail and limbs are brown. Newborn Aard- 

 varks are of a pale pinkish or flesh-color. 



The Dutch settlers at the Cape of Good Hope 

 gave the animal its name of Aard-vark (Ground- 

 hog), because its flesh resembles that of a Wild Boar 

 in taste; they have hunted it extensively and there- 

 fore know it well. 

 Habits and Home The Aard-vark is a native of south- 

 of the Aard- ern and central Africa, ranging from 

 uark. the eastern to the western coast, like 



the Armadillos affecting the plains, desert-like spots 

 and grass-grown table-lands abounding in Ants and 

 Termites. It is a solitary animal, though one some- 

 times finds it in company with others; strictly speak- 

 ing, however, every Aard-vark lives alone, resting by 

 day in large burrows excavated by themselves, and 

 moving about by night. It is an expert burrower, a 

 few moments being sufficient for it to completely 

 bury itself in the ground. 



