Some curious Animal Weapons. 71 



but does not like them seek its food on the surface 

 and in the ant-hill only; all kinds of insects are 

 preyed on, and by means of its keen scent it dis- 

 covers worms and larvae several inches beneath 

 the surface. Its method of taking worms . and 

 grubs resembles that of probing birds, for it throws 

 up no earth, but forces its sharp snout and wedge- 

 shaped head down to the required depth ; and pro- 

 bably while working it moves round in a circle, for 

 the hole is conical, though the head of the animal 

 is flat. Where it has found a rich hunting-ground, 

 the earth is seen pitted with hundreds of these neat 

 symmetrical bores. It is also an enemy to ground- 

 nesting birds, being fond of eggs and fledglings ; and 

 when unable to capture prey it will feed on carrion 

 as readily as a wild dog or vulture, returning night 

 after night to the carcase of a horse or cow as long 

 as the flesh lasts. Failing animal food, it subsists 

 on vegetable diet; and I have frequently found 

 their stomachs stuffed with clover, and, stranger 

 still, with the large, hard grains of the maize, 

 swallowed entire. 



It is not, therefore, strange that at all seasons, 

 and even when other animals are starving, the hairy 

 armadillo is always fat and vigorous. In the 

 desert it is diurual; but where man appears it 

 becomes more and more nocturnal, and in populous 

 districts does not go abroad until long after dark. 

 Yet when a district becomes thickly settled it in- 

 creases in numbers ; so readily does it adapt itself 

 to new conditions. It is not to be wondered at 

 that the gauchos, keen observers of nature as they 

 are, should make this species the hero of many of 



