HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. _j 89 



of fine hard hair, of a whitish colour; about the 

 head and nose it has several long hairs, like 

 whiskers. 



An animal similar to this is mentioned by M. 

 Buffon, under the name of the Tanrec. 



THE TANREC. 



THIS animal is larger than the last, and has 

 fewer bristles: they occupy only the top of the 

 head, and along the back, as far as the shoulders: 

 the rest of the body is covered with a bristly kind 

 of hair, of a yellowish colour, among which are in- 

 termixed some black hairs, much longer than the 

 other. Its nose is long, and its ears more apparent 

 than those of the Tendrac. 



Both of them are natives of India. These make 

 a grunting noise, and are fond of wallowing in 

 mud, like Hogs : they frequent the banks of rivers, 

 can live a long time in the water, and are fre- 

 quently caught in small inlets of the sea : they dig 

 holes in the ground, where they continue in a kind 

 of torpid state for several months. They are 

 generally very fat; and the Indians eat their flesh, 

 though it is reckoned insipid and stringy. 



VOL. in. 3 Q 



