﻿i86 Allen's naturalist's library. ^ 



According to Gould, the Banded Ant-eater is, indeed, only 

 to be found in localities where its favourite food is abundant. 

 Mr. Gilbert, who had many oportunities of seeing this 

 little animal in its native haunts, writes that "it appears very 

 much like a Squirrel when running on the ground, which it 

 does in successive leaps, with its tail a little elevated ; every now 

 and then raising its body, and resting on its hind feet. When 

 alarmed, it generally takes to a dead tree lying on the ground, 

 and before entering the hollow invariably raises itself on its 

 hind feet, to ascertain the reality of approaching danger. In 

 this kind of retreat it is easily captured, and, when caught, is so 

 harmless and tame as scarcely to make any resistance, and 

 never attempts to bite. When it has no chance of escaping 

 from its place of refuge, it utters a sort of half-smothered grunt, 

 apparently produced by a succession of hard breathings. 



"The female is said to bring forth her young in a hole in the 

 ground, or in a fallen tree, and to produce from five to nine in 

 a litter. I have not myself observed more than seven young 

 attached to the nipples. Like the members of the genus 

 Antechiniis^ this animal has no pouch for the protection of the 

 young ; the only protection afforded their delicate offspring 

 being the long hairs which clothe the under-surface of the 

 abdomen of the mother." 



It must be observed that in this very circumstantial account, 

 which is from the pen of Mr. Gould's trusty and ill-fated collector, 

 the statement as to the number of young is quite at variance with 

 the presence of only four teats in the female. Unfortunately, 

 there do not appear to be any recent observations on the 

 number of young in a litter, and the attention of those who 

 have an opportunity of seeing the animal in its native haunts 

 may well be directed to this, as also to the number of teats of 

 the female. 



Although the Banded Ant-eater is chiefly a terrestrial creature, 



