SLOTHS, ANT-EATERS AND ARMADILLOS 331 



under observation, states that " one was of a bright yellow colour, 

 with a brown stripe on the back, the other was silvery-grey and 

 darker on the back. The hair of each was very soft and silky, 

 a little crisped ; the head was small and round, the nose long, 

 gradually bending downwards to a point ; it had no teeth, but a 

 very long, round tongue ; the eyes were very small, round, and 

 black ; the legs rather short ; the fore -feet had only two claws 

 on each, the exterior being much larger and stronger than the 

 interior, which exactly filled the curve or hollow of the larger 

 one ; the hind-feet had four claws of moderate size ; the tail was 

 prehensile, longer than the body, thick at the base, and tapering 

 to the end, which, for some inches on the underside, was bare/' 



The Cape Ant-Eater (Orycteropus capensis), or Aard-Vark, is 

 a strange-looking creature, rather pig-like in appearance, whence 

 its Boer name of Aard-Vark (literally earth-pig). It is a heavily- 

 built animal, the stout body being covered with a rather scanty 

 growth of coarse hair ; the snout is long, with round nostrils at 

 its end, and very pig-like in appearance ; while the ears are long, 

 erect, and pointed, and the tail, which is very thick close to the 

 body, gradually tapers off. The front limbs are four-toed, and 

 the hind limbs five-toed, the claws being powerful and strong, 

 well adapted for the work of digging in the ground, and breaking 

 open the nests of the ants and termites, or white ants. The tongue 

 is long, narrow, and slender, and the back parts of both the upper 

 and lower jaws carry five teeth on each side, twenty in all. There 

 are no permanent front teeth. This strange-looking animal is 

 nocturnal in its habits, making an underground burrow to live in 

 and to sleep in during the daytime. Then at night it comes forth 

 cautiously from its retreat, for it is a shy animal, and at once 

 begins to dig with its strong claws into a neighbouring ant-hill. 

 The infuriated insects rush up to the opening, into which the Aard- 

 Vark protrudes his long, slimy tongue, which quickly becomes 

 covered with ants, when it is returned into the mouth ; this 

 process is repeated again and again, until the animal's appetite 

 is satisfied. 



All the Pangolins, or Scaly Ant-Eaters (Manis), are inhabitants 

 of the Old World, like the aard-vark, and are found in Asia and 

 Africa. They are absolutely toothless, and the tongue is worm-like, 

 round, and very long. They range in size from two to nearly 



