244 LLOYD’S NATURAL HISTORY, 
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 bail 
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 will 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 
ageression. 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, 
