ANIMALS. 633 



brovrn dusky colour, but this of a beautiful reddish, mixed with 

 yellow. Though they dilFer in figure, they all resemble each 

 other in one ])eciiliarity, wliich is the extreme sleiiderness of 

 their snout, and the amazing length of their tongue. 



The snout is produced in so disproportionate a manner, that 

 the length of it makes near a fourth part of the whole figure. 

 A horse has one of the longest heads of any aiiimid we know, 

 and yet the ant-bear has one above twice as long, in proportion 

 to its body. The snout of this animal is almost round and cylin- 

 drical ; it is extremely slender, and is scarcely thicker near the 

 eyes than at its extremity. The mouth is very small, the nos- 

 trils are very close to each other, the eyes are little in proportion 

 to the length of the nose, the neck is short, the tongue is ex- 

 tremely long, slender, and flatted on both sides ; this it keeps 

 generally doubled up in the mouth, and is the only instrument 

 by which it finds subsistence ; for the whole of this tribe ai'e 

 entirely without teeth, and find safety only in the remoteness and 

 security of their retreat. 



If we examine through the various regions of the earth, we 

 shall find that all the most active, sprightly, and useful quad- 

 rupeds have been gathered round man, and either served his 

 pleasures, or still maintained their independence by their vigil- 

 ance, their cunning, or their industry. It is in the remote soli- 

 tudes that we are to look for the helpless, the deformed, and the 

 monstrous births of nature. These wretched animals, being in- 

 capable of defending themselves either by their agility or their 

 natural arms, falls a prey to every creature that attacks them -• 

 they, therefore, retire for safety into the darkest forests, or the 

 more 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 conti- 

 nent, and entirely unknown to the old. It lives chiefly in the 

 woods, and hides himself under the fallen leaves. It seldom 

 ventures from its retreat, and the industry of an hour supplies it 

 with suflicient food for several days together. Its manner of 

 procuring its prey is one of the most singular in all natural liis- 



2y 3 



