400 THE ANT-BEAR. 



sprightly, and useful quadrupeds have been gather- 

 ed round man, and either served his pleasures, or 

 still maintained their independence by their vigi- 

 lance, their cunning, or their industry. It is in 

 the remote solitudes that we are to look for the 

 helpless, the deformed, and the monstrous births 

 of nature. These wretched animals being inca- 

 pable of defending themselves, either by their 

 agility or their natural arms, fall a prey to every 

 creature that attacks them ; they therefore retire 

 for safety into the darkest forests, or the most 

 desert mountains, where none of the bolder or 

 swifter animals choose to reside. 



It may well be supposed that an animal so 

 helpless as the ant-bear is, with legs too short to 

 fit it for flight, and unprovided with teeth to give 

 it a power of resistance, is neither numerous, nor 

 often seen ; its retreats are in the most barren 

 and uncultivated parts of South America. It is 

 a native only of the new continent, and entirely 

 unknown to the old. It lives chiefly in the 

 woods, and hides itself under the fallen leaves. 

 It seldom ventures from its retreat ; and the in- 

 dustry of an hour supplies it with sufficient food 

 for several days together. Its manner of procur- 

 ing its prey is one of the most singular in all na- 

 tural history : as its name implies, it lives entirely 

 upon ants and insects ; these, in the countries 

 where it isJbred, are found in the greatest abun- 

 dance, and often build themselves hills five or, six 

 feet high, where they live in community. When 

 this animal approaches an ant-hill, it creeps slow- 

 ly forward on its belly, taking every precaution to 



