1562 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY EULLETIN 



'HAVING OBTAINED A KIRM GRII' WITH BOTH HIND 

 LITTLE CREATURE BEN DS FORWARD " 



FEET, THE 



three types of ant-eaters adapted to the varied 

 building sites and the durability of the ant nests. 

 These three animals whose forms and activ- 

 ities have been moulded upon a single article of 

 diet are the Great Ant-eater 

 or Ant-bear, (Myrmecophaga 

 jubata), the Lesser Ant- 

 eater or Tamandua, {Taman- 

 dua tetradactyla) , and the 

 Little Silky Ant-eater, {Cy- 

 clopes didactylus). It is said 

 that the latter occasionally 

 feeds on the larvae of ants 

 and wasps, but this has not 

 been confirmed. All three are 

 found about our tropical re- 

 search station in British Gui- 

 ana and all have now been 

 represented by living speci- 

 mens in the Zoological Park. 

 Perhaps the best known is 

 the largest, which is by no 

 means innocuous, although its 

 diet is of so humble a charac- 

 ter. No man, single-handed, 

 could overcome an ant-bear, 

 so strong are its muscles and 

 so effective its claws. The 

 last one observed in our vi- 

 cinity was killed at the Penal 

 Settlement by Mr. Frere, 

 which from nose to tail-tin 



July, 

 creek 

 an ov 

 ture 



measured exactly eight feet. 

 This species is wholly terrestrial 

 and is occasionally to be seen 

 making its way through the jun- 

 gle or along the Indian trails, 

 or, as I have twice observed it, 

 swimming wide rivers and 

 creeks. The head, and the long 

 hair of the back and tail project 

 above the water, and the crea- 

 ture makes surprisingly good 

 time. 



The tamandua or lesser ant- 

 eater is less frequently seen and 

 always in trees. Last year one 

 was discovered rolled up in a 

 ball resting in a low crotch. He 

 was picked out and we kept him 

 alive. 



The Pygmy or Silky Ant- 

 eater is by far the rarest of its 

 family. There are few speci- 

 mens in museums and not one 

 has been brought alive to a 

 northern zoological garden. In 

 a year ago, as I paddled along a jungle 

 I saw my first Silky Ant-eater. It was 

 ercast, late afternoon and the little crea- 

 had begun her hunting early, climbing 



"NOSE AND ALL FOUR FEET COME TOGETHER- 



