338 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



tried to climb the tree, but was driven back by swarms of stinging ants; the poor little 

 fellow slid down in a sad predicament, and plunged headlong into the brook to free himself." 



On another occasion the same writer tells us he " saw a sloth swimming across a river at 

 a place where it was 300 yards broad. I believe it is not generally known that this animal 

 takes to the water. Our men caught the beast, cooked and ate him." 



In past ages gigantic ground-sloths roamed over South America. The largest of these, the 

 Megatherium, rivalled the elephant in size. Descendants of these giants appear to have lingered 

 on till comparatively recent times, as witness the wonderful discovery by Moreno, made during 

 last year (1900) in a cave in Patagonia. This was nothing less than a skull and a large 

 piece of the hide of one of these monsters in a wonderful state of preservation, showing 

 indeed undoubted traces of blood and sinew. That the hide was removed by human hands 

 there can be no doubt, for it was rolled up and turned inside-out. Immediately after this 

 discovery was announced, an expedition was dispatched from England to hunt, not so much 

 for more remains, but for the animal itself. Time will show whether these efforts will prove 

 successful. 



THE ANT-EATERS 



Unlike as the ant-eaters are to the sloths, they are nevertheless very closely related thereto. 

 This unlikeness at the present day is so great that, were it not for " missing-links " in the 

 shape of fossils, we should probably never have discovered the relationship. The head of the 

 typical ant-eaters has been drawn out into a long tubular muzzle, at the end of which is a tiny 

 mouth just big enough to permit the exit of a long worm-like tongue, covered with a sticky 

 saliva. This tongue is thrust out with great rapidity amongst the hosts of ants and termites 

 and their larvae, on which they prey. These victims are captured by breaking open their nests. 

 At once all the active inhabitants swarm up to the breach, and are instantaneously swept away 

 by the remorseless tongue. The jaws of the ant-eaters are entirely toothless, and the eyes and 

 ears are very small. 



The largest species of ant-eater is about 4 feet long. It lives entirely upon the ground. 

 Generally speaking, it is a harmless creature ; but at times, when cornered, it will fight 



^^_________rcT-,;,___ _^__ n .,^__. n _ furiously, sitting up on its 



hind legs and hugging its 

 foe in its powerful arms. 

 Bates, the traveler- 

 naturalist, relates an 

 instance in which a dog 

 used in hunting the GREAT 

 ANT-EATER was caught in 

 its grip and killed. The 

 tail of this large species 

 is covered with very long 

 hair, forming an immense 

 brush. The claw on the 

 third toe of each fore limb 

 is of great size, and used 

 for breaking open ants' and 

 other insects' nests. 



But besides the great 

 ground ant-eater there are 

 some tree-haunting species. 

 These have a shorter muzzle, 

 and short hair on the tail, 

 which is used, as with 

 the spider monkeys, as a 



^MMFh --.'- 



THE GREAT ANT-EATER 



In waiting the ant-eater turns its toes inwards^ so that the c/aivs turn upwards and inwards, 

 the iveight of the body being borne by a horny pad on the J\fth toe, and the balls of the third and 

 fourth toes, 



