ANIMAL GLOBES 181 



is the Echidna, a monotreme quadruped found in Australia, 

 Tasmania and New Guinea. The Echidna does not roll 

 itself into a ball, but crouches when alarmed, and hides 

 its head between its fore legs. 



The porcupine too has spines, but he does not use them 

 like the hedgehog ; instead of curling himself up, he 

 charges backwards at his enemy. The spines of the 

 hedgehog, porcupine and Echidna are simply gigantic 

 hairs. 



Some animals, which are covered, not with spines but 

 with fur, such as the Ornithorhynchus, the Thibetan 

 Sun-bear and the Koala (the " Native Bear " of the 

 Australians) also roll themselves up. Comfort and warmth 

 during sleep seem to be the chief object with these animals, 

 but some degree of protection is indirectly gained. Resting 

 in this attitude, the animal exposes the smallest possible 

 surface to inquisitive eyes, and makes itself as unmanage- 

 able as possible to biting enemies, which must fill their 

 mouths with fur as a preliminary, and can only inflict 

 serious wounds when they are decidedly superior to their 

 prey in size and strength. 



The dormouse curls itself up in its nest at the approach 

 of winter, and makes itself still more secure by wrapping 

 its body in grass and leaves. Then it goes to sleep, loaded 

 with fat by its abundant meals upon the berries, nuts 

 and grain of autumn. Part of its food it stores for winter 

 use, and when waked from its long slumber by a spell 

 of warm weather, it feeds and goes to sleep again. The 

 dormouse is rare in the north of England, and even in the 

 south it is a very unusual thing to meet with a hiber- 

 nating dormouse. Much more common are hibernating 

 hedgehogs, which also wrap themselves up in leaves and 

 grass. 



The South American Armadillo, of which there are 

 several kinds, is completely furnished with the means of 

 defence. Its skin is ossified, not into a rigid shield, but 

 into a mosaic of six-sided plates. Across the back the 



