156 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



the other Ant-eaters ; the hind ones have practically only four toes, 

 the first being rudimentary; the other four are strongly clawed and 

 curved, being opposed to a pad on the heel, so as to grip boughs in 

 climbing. The fore-paw is even more peculiar, there being practically 

 only two toes, the very large and strongly-clawed third toe, and the 

 second, which is much slenderer; the others are rudimentary. 



This little creature has much the same range as the other two 

 Ant-eaters, but none of the three interfere with each other, the Great 

 Ant-eater being terrestrial, the Tamandua chiefly a tree-dweller, while 

 the Little Ant-eater is entirely so. It feeds to a great extent on the 

 grubs of tree-building wasps, which it extracts from their cells by means 

 of the pincers formed by the two-toed fore-limbs. It is not an easy 

 animal to keep alive in captivity, and so far has not been exhibited in 

 our Zoological Gardens. 



THE PANGOLINS 



THE Pangolins (Manides) of tropical Africa and Asia resemble the 

 Ant-eaters of the New World in their toothless jaws and long tongues 

 adapted to a diet of Ants, and even in their habit of walking on the 

 fore-knuckles to protect the huge digging claws, but they are not closely 

 related to them, although belonging to the same order of Edentates. 

 In their general appearance they differ from any other beasts, being 

 covered with broad horny scales above, and on the tail and outsides of 

 the limbs. The long tail is very broad and thick where it joins the 

 body, and there are no external ears. In fact, were it not for the scanty 

 hairs that are found on the under-surface, these creatures might reason- 

 ably be taken for some curious sort of Lizard rather than for beasts of 

 any kind. When disturbed, these creatures roll themselves into a ball, 

 and are then practically invulnerable owing to the hard sharp-edged 

 scales. They are slow-paced, nocturnal animals, some species living 

 entirely on the ground and in burrows, and others climbing trees. One 

 young one is born at a time, and this, in the Burmese species at any 

 rate, rides on the base of the mother's tail, clinging with its powerful 

 claws. 



These animals are very rare in captivity, but one species, the West 

 African (Manis tricuspis), has been exhibited in our Zoological Gardens. 



