﻿2 44- ALLEN S NATURALISTS LIBRARY. 



its great burrowing powers chiefly by night. " Its movements 

 are active/' continues this observer, '' particularly when engaged 

 in burrowing, which is effected with an extraordinary degree of 

 celerity. When attacked, they roll themselves into a ball 

 similar to the Hedgehog, and, with erect spines, form an 

 excellent defence. They are very restless when in confine- 

 ment, and pry into every crevice, and if any opening, however 

 small, is found to admit their powerful burrowing fore paws, it 

 will speedily be torn up, and the animal wdll escape. The 

 only method of carrying the creature is by one of the hind legs, 

 when it may be removed to any place with great facility ; for 

 .an attempt to seize it by any other part of the body, from its 

 powerful resistance, and the sharpness of the spines, will soon 

 -oblige the captor to relinquish his hold, when the animal, 

 rolling itself into a spherical form, is free for some time from 

 -aggression. It also resists removal by its power of adhering 

 to any object, as I found on several occasions. When one of 

 these animals was given to me, and placed in the box of the 

 gig to bring home, on arriving there I could not, by any effort, 

 remove it, from its adhering to the boards like a limpet to the 

 rocks (the head and snout being drawn in); only a formidable 

 .array of prickles was visible, so sharp, that on the least touch 

 they left a very painful feeling in the hands. So firmly was the 

 animal fixed, that it was impossible to stir it from that position. 

 At last, the method of removing limpets from the rocks was 

 resorted to, and a spade being inserted gradually at one extre- 

 mity of the animal, it was scraped from its position after some 

 difficulty ; and even then it was some length of time before we 

 succeeded in grasping the hind legs and conveying the trouble- 

 some creature to the place of confinement allotted to it. So 

 much trouble was given by its burrowing habits and spinal 

 irritation, that its death some time afterwards was not regarded 

 with much regret. 



