ANT-EATER. 



rate of about twice in a second, many dozens being 

 captured at each time ; and when the first breach is 

 cleared, others are made in the same manner. But 

 though the animal subsists in this manner, it is said 

 never to get fat, notwithstanding its indolence at those 

 times when it is not feeding. It is capable, however, 

 of enduring great privation in the way of food, which 

 might be inferred from its sluggish habits. The posi- 

 tion of repose is that of partially rolling itself into a 

 ball, with the snout doubled on the breast, the legs 

 brought together, the long and bushy tail covering 

 the outer part, and the whole animal having some- 

 thing the appearance of a bunch of withered grass ; 

 and probably much of its defence from enemies de- 

 pends on this position, in which it spends the greater 

 portion ofits time. 



The muscles of the fore-legs of these animals are 

 powerful, and the claws are formidable ; and on these 

 accounts, the efficacy of the latter, as weapons of 

 defence and even of attack, appear to have been 

 much exaggerated. It has been said (though those 

 who have said so do not pretend to have seen it in 

 the fact) that the great ant-eater, or " ant-bear," as 

 it is sometimes called, can seize with its claws and 

 hug to death the most formidable and active beasts of 

 prey that inhabit the same countries. But the pro- 

 bability is, that the animal has been endowed with the 

 powers of the sloths, and also of the bear, after which 

 it has improperly been named. The claws of the 

 sloths are clutching claws, and their feet do act 

 against each other while they move along the 

 branches in quest of their food. Hence it is perfectly 

 natural to suppose that a sloth would clutch an enemy 

 upon the ground ; and as its clutch habitually sup- 

 ports its own weight without effort, it is natural to 

 suppose that it would be formidable to other animals. 

 Bears, too, have hugging feet, which they use in 

 climbing trees, and it is also quite natural that they 

 should use them against their prey, or against an 

 enemy. But the great ant-eater does not climb, or 

 clutch with its paws, or hug any thing in any one of 

 its natural habits ; and it would be at variance with 

 all the analogies of nature to make it a new animal, 

 either when it attacks or when it defends. The posi- 

 tion of the fore-paws in repose, is with the claws 

 folded down upon the pad of the palm ; and if the 

 animal get hold of any thing there, it might retain that 

 hold ; though it is against the general rule to suppose 

 that the position of repose should also be the position 

 of excitement. 



The ant-eater is not the only animal which has 

 got credit for performing feats which are equally con- 

 trary to its habits and inconsistent with its organisa- 

 tion. The works of travellers and compilers in natural 

 history are full of them; and they are sometimes suf- 

 fered to vitiate the pages of those who ought to know 

 better. These matters spoil natural history as a 

 useful study, and therefore no better service can be 

 rendered to the reader than the exposure of them, 

 and no means so certain for preventing the inexpe- 

 rienced from falling into such mistakes, as a careful 

 study of the structure and habits of animals. From 

 these, and these alone, we can learn what the animal 

 is best capable of doing ; and when we have ascer- 

 tained that, we may rest assured that it will be the 

 first thing the animal will attempt. 



Great ant-eaters are pretty generally distributed 

 over all the warmer parts of South America ; but 

 they are not numerous in any one locality. The low 



and swampy grounds, by the sides of streams and 

 pools, or in the forests, are his favourite haunts, 

 though he never either climbs in the wood or swims 

 in the water. He is wholly a ground animal, but a 

 surface one and not a burrower. 



They are slow-breeding animals. The female has 

 only one at a birth ; she carries it on her back, and 

 tends and nurses it for more than a year. They are 

 remarkably quiet and harmless animals, living and 

 feeding among the ant-hills, and not, so far as is 

 known, offering or doing harm to any other creature. 

 So retired are they, indeed, that they are considered 

 as rare, even in their native forests. The Indians 

 and negroes eat the flesh of this species, which is 

 not unpalatable ; but, as is the case with several 

 others of the ground animals, it has a rank musky 

 flavotir, which is rather offensive to Europeans. The 

 species now noticed is the only one of the genus 

 which is literally an "ant-eater" and a dweller ex- 

 clusively upon the ground ; and the remaining spe- 

 cies, though they agree with it in having no teeth, 

 have many of their characters so different that each 

 of them might perhaps be made a separate genus. 



The t'tmandna (M. tamandita), is a much smaller 

 animal than the ant-eater properly so called. It is 

 five inches from the snout to the ear, one foot nine 

 to the origin of the tail, and the tail is about one 

 foot four ; making the total length three feet and a 

 half; but the tail and snout are shorter in propor- 

 tion, and the body is stouter. The legs are also 

 stouter in proportion, and the animal walks much 

 better upon them, the fore legs being more plan- 

 tigrade, and the claws not quite so much in the way. 

 The feet are adapted for climbing, in which opera- 

 tion the animal is assisted by its prehensile tail, 

 which grasps round the branches readily and with 

 a firm hold. It stands more equally on its feet than 

 the ant-eater, and is altogether a more lively-looking 

 animal. Its fur is also short and silky, and its tail 

 round and tapering, covered with very short hair. 

 There are five or six varieties enumerated, but as 

 the differences between them are chiefly in colour, 

 it is probable that they are merely climatal. The 

 prevailing tint is dull straw-colour, variously marked 

 with black, or with a silvery hue. These markings may 

 be the effects of age, as the young are all over of a 

 dull straw-colour. The female has two pectoral 

 mammae, like the ant-eater ; like that she has but one 

 young at a birth, and carries it on her back, but for 

 a much shorter time. 



This species inhabits the thick and pestilent 

 forests of South America, spending the greater part 

 of its time in the trees ; and, indeed, the ground 

 under its haunts is so often under water, that it 

 could not find footing there. It feeds upon tree 

 insects and wild honey, reaching the latter in the 

 very tops of the trees by means of its feet and tail. 

 It also sleeps in the trees, but not suspended, after 

 the habit of the sloth. When it prepares for repose 

 it finds a hole or secure crevice, where, rolling 

 itself up partially as a ball, it remains in safety. 



The little ant-eater (M. didactyla two-toed), is 

 as improperly called an ant-eater as the species last 

 mentioned. This species is about the size of the 

 common squirrel, has the snout less produced than 

 the last species, and the feet not so well adapted for 

 walking. The fore ones have however powerful 

 claws (two on each foot), bearing some resemblance 

 to those of the sloths; and the tail is very prehensile 



