

I.K. 



re theee gigantic uit-hilU in some part* of Southern Africa, that they 

 r* frequently ma standing orer the plain* u far as the ere can reach, 

 ad BO olo** together that UM travellers waggon ou> with difficulty pus 

 between them. They abound more especially in the Zeorevelden. or 

 our dietricte, tootled from producing kind of sour gnu*; are seldom 

 found oo UM karroo* or down*, and never in very dry or woody dUtricU 

 By constant exposure to the rays of a powerful tropical un they become 

 a hard and indurated on the outer eurfikoe that they easily rapport the 

 weight of three or four men, and even a loaded waggon will sometimes 

 pass orer without crushing them. Internally then mound* are of a 

 r structure, eomethhig reeambling a honeycomb, and are to com- 

 l they inflame ' 



> without difficulty, 



pletely saturated with animal oil that 



and are an excellent substitute for wood or coaL 



Whererer ant-hill* abound the aard-vark is lure to bo found nt no 

 great distance. He construct* a deep burrow in the immediate vicinity 

 of hi* food, and change* hi* residence only after he ha* exhausted hi* 

 reaouroea. The facility with which he burrows beneath the Burfaoe 

 of the earth in *aid to be almost inconceivable. We have already 

 Men how admirably hi* feet and claw* are adapted to thin purpose ; 

 and traveller* inform u* that it is quite impracticable to dig him out. 

 a* he can in a few minutes bury himself at a depth far beyond the 

 reach of hu punuien ; and, further, that hi* strength in *o great as 

 to require the united effort <>f two or three men to drag him from hi- 

 hole. When fairly caught, how i v. r. he is by no mean* retentive of life, 

 but i* easily dispatched by a slight blow over the snout. The aard- 

 vark is an extremely timid, harmless aniuial, seldom removes to any 

 great distance from his burrow, being slow of foot and a bad rimnrr, 

 and is never by any chance found abroad during the day-time. On 

 the approach of night he sallies forth in search of food, and, repairing 

 to the nearest inhabited ant-hill, scratches a hole in the side of it just 

 sufficient to admit his long snout Here, after having previously 

 ascertained that there is no danger of interruption, he lies down, 

 and, inserting his long slender tongue into the breach, entraps the 

 ant*, which fly t<> <1. !'!,! tli.-ir dwellings upon the first alarm, and, 

 mounting upon the tongue of the aard-vark, get entangled in the 

 glutinous saliva, and are swallowed by whole scores at a time. If 

 uninterrupted, he continues this process till he has satisfied his 

 p|>etite; but on the slightest alarm he makes a precipitate retreat, 

 and seeks security at the bottom of his subterranean dwelling. Hence 



U called the cannon-bone in the hone, and other digitigrade animal*, 

 in reality correspond* to the initep in man ; and that what is generally 

 miktaken for the knee really represent* the heel 



In the particular oa*e of the /Votata the natural effect of the < 

 grade formation is, in some degree, lessened by the peculiar str 

 of the fore legs, which, contrary to the general rule observable in most 

 other animal*, are considerably longer than the hind. In this respect, 

 also, the f'rotrla resembles the hyena* ; and in U>tli genera thi* 

 singular d:-pr..p"i-ti"ii between the anterior and posterior extn 

 abridges the v. I., it \ p: to their digitigrade confon 



Thi* genus contains but a single specie*. 



in which they are most numerous. Like other nocturnal animals, whic 

 pass the greater part of their lives in sleeping and eating, they become 

 exceedingly fat, and their flesh is considered to be a wholesome and 

 palatable food. The hind-quarters, particularly when cut into hams 

 and dried, are held in great esteem. 



AAKI >-W( )LK (Protda, Is. Qeof.), in Zoology, a genus of digitigrade 

 carnivorous mammals, founded by M. 1- lire, for 



the purpose of giving a place to a new and singular quadruped brought 

 aome yean ago from Caffraria by the traveller Delalande. This 

 genus is interesting to the zoologist, as forming the intermediate link 

 which connect* the civets with the dogs and hytcnas three genera 

 which have hitherto stood, as it were, insulated from summn.lnr.; 

 groups, and widely separated from one another. The dogs and by rciuw, 

 indeed, had been united a short time previous, by the discovery of an 

 intermediate species in the same locality which has since produced the 

 Protelet ; but it is this latter species alone, which, uniting the cha- 

 racter* of all these three genera, enables us to trace their natural 

 affinities, and to assign to them their proper position in the scale of 

 existence. 



To the external appearance and osteologies! structure of an hywna 

 this truly singular animal unite* the head and feet of a fox, and 

 the intestine* of a civet Its teeth are remarkable : the permanent 

 canine* are tolerably huge, but the molar* are small, and separated 

 by intervals. It has five toe* on the fore feet, and four only on the 

 hind ; the innermost toe of the fore foot U placed, as in the dogs, at 

 aome distance above the other*, and therefore never touches the ground 

 when the animal stand* or walks. The legs also are complete! 

 grade ; that i* to say, the heel U elevated, and does not come into 

 contact with the surface, a* in man and other similarly formed animals, 

 which walk upon the whole sole of the foot, mid are thence said to be 

 plantigrade. It is of great importance to remark the difference between 

 these two modification* of the locomotive organ*, because they have a 

 very decided and extraordinary influence upon the habits and economy 

 of animal life. Digitigrade animals, which tread only upon the toes, 

 and carry the heel considerably elevated above the ground, have much 

 longer leg* than plantigrade animal*, and are, therefore, especially 

 fitted for leaping and running with groat ease and i Accord- 



ingly, it will be observed that the hone, the (tag, the antolope, the 

 dog, and other animal* remarkable for rap urse, partake 



strongly of thi* formation ; and even their degree of nwiftness is accu- 

 rately measured by the comparative elevation of the heel Inattentive 

 observer* sometime* misapprehend the nature of thi* peculiar con- 

 formation of the extremities of digitigrade animals, and are apt to 

 nd the hough with the ankle, and to mistake tr tl,. kiiiw what 

 if really the heel of the animal Thus we have heard it said that, in 

 the hind leg* of the horse, the knee was ben' 



to that of man. Thi* i* by no mean* tni<< : a little attention l<> the 

 i of the different joints and articulations, will show that what 



The Aartl-n'olf. or Karth -Wolf ( J'rotda Lal 



rrittatn. ..called by tin- Knrop.vui colonist* in the nci^hl.our- 



hoodof AlgoaBay, in South 'Africa, the locality in which M. Pclalande 

 procured his specimens of this animal. The - "If is 



aUiut that of a full-grown fix, which it further resemble* i: 

 muzzle; but it stands higher upon its leg*, its ears are 



ki-d, and its tail shorter and not no bushy. At first 

 tiijlht it nii^ht be easily mistaken for a young striped hyieno, so closely 

 does it resemble that animal in the colours and peculiar markings of 

 its fur, and in the mane of long stiff hair which runs along tin 

 and back ; indeed, it is only to be distinguished by it in 

 head, and by the adiUtional fifth toe of the fore f.-ct. Th 

 woolly texture on the sides ami Mly. but a mane of coarse Miff hair, 

 six or seven inches in length, passes along the nape of the neck and 

 back, from the occiput to the origin of the tail, and is capable of U-in^ 

 erected or bristled up, like that of the hya?na, when the animal is 

 irritated or provoked. The general colour of the fur is pale cin. 

 (ash-coloured), with a slight shade of yellowish brown ; the mu//.le is 

 black and almost naked, or covered only with a few IOIIK .-<itf mous- 

 tache*. Around the eyes, and on each Bide of the neck, are dark 

 brown marks ; eight or ten bauds of the same colour pass over the body 

 in a transverse direction, exactly as in the common striped h;. 

 and the arms and thighs are likewise marked with ximilai 

 stripes. The legs and feet are of an uniform dark brown in fruit , 

 and gray behind. The long hairs of the mane are gray, with tw.. 

 broad rings of black, the second of which occupies the point ; those 

 of the tail are similarly marked, and equally long and stiff; whence 

 it appears as if the mane and tail were clouded with an altrnate 

 mixture of black and gray. The ears are gray on the interior surface, 

 and dark brown on the outer. 



In its habits and manners the aard-wolf resembles the fox : like 

 that animal, it is nocturnal, and constructs a subterraneous burrow, 

 at the bottom of which it lies concealed during the daytime, and only 

 ventures abroad on the approach of night, to search for food and 

 the other calls of nature. It is fond of the si.ciety "f its own species ; 

 at least, many individuals have been found residing together in the 

 some burrow; and, as they are of a timid and wary character, they 

 have generally three or four different entrances to their holes ; so that. 

 if attacked on -me M.|C, they may secure a retreat in an oppn-.it e direc- 

 tion. NotwithstandinK' the disproportionate length of their fore legs, 

 they are said to run very fast ; and so strong is their | 

 burrow, that one of M. Delala aliout 



to be run down and captured, immediately craned it* flight, and began 

 to scratch up the ground, as if with the intention of making a new 



. :> 



M. Isidore Geoffmy St. Milairehas bestowed upon this species the 

 name rt I.-tlamlii, but Span-man ami l.i vaillani 



the aard-wolf long Iwfore the date of M. Delalan.l.V journey; and 

 the former ha* not only described it with tolerable accuracy, but has 

 even ascertained it* true generic character*. (Span-man's ' Travels,' 

 v..l. i 



In the ' Swond Voyage 1 of Levaillant, vol. ii., p ><n is 



likewise made of tins animal mi'l.-r the appellation of l.oup .l.-Terrc,' 

 which i* a mmpl aard-wolf. 



Sparrman mentions having found ants in the ntoma "trim, 



