1384 



THE EDENTATES 



that the ant-eater will even face and attack the jaguar, and although the truth of 

 this statement was denied by the traveler Azara, a later explorer believes that it may 

 be founded on fact. Like the sloths, ant-eaters are exceedingly difficult to kill, 

 their skin being so tough that an ordinary small hunting knife will make no impres- 

 sion on it, while their skulls may be battered with a heavy stone without producing 

 any other effect than temporarily stunning the creatures. 



These ant-eaters thrive fairly well in captivity in Europe, but spend most of 

 their time in sleep, with the head, limbs, and tail folded up in the manner already 

 mentioned. On awakening, the animal generally unfolds itself with considerable de- 

 liberation, usually sitting up at first on its hind-quarters, with its legs stretched out 

 rigidly in front, and its bird-like head swaying slowly from side to side. "In its 



THE TAMANDUA. 

 (One-sixth natural size.) 



slow and measured walk," writes Sclater, "the tail is stretched out in a straight 

 line with the back (as in the illustration on p. 1382), and the animal then presents a 

 length of between six and seven feet, of which the head occupies one foot, and the 

 tail three." The small mouth and face are cleaned from any of the viscid saliva 

 which may have adhered to them by being rubbed from time to time against 

 the slightly-bent knee. The flesh of the great ant-eater, although black in 

 color, and musky in odor, is largely eaten by the natives and negroes of South 

 America. 



The lesser ant-eater, or tamandua ( Tamandua tetradactyla] is an 

 animal of scarcely half the size of the preceding, from which it is dis- 

 tinguished by its much shorter head, longer ears, uniformly-short bristly hair, and 

 the prehensile tail, of which the extremity, together with the whole length of the 



Tamandua 



