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position the tail covers the whole animal : at other times it cowers 

 itself up like a dog when asleep, and the tail covers only the snout 

 and part of the body. The female Ant-bear possesses two pectoral 

 teats, and produces only one young at a time ; and as soon as this 

 has received sufhcient strength the mother carries it with her on her 

 back, where it keeps itself firmly attached, 'llie young animal re- 

 mains with its mother for the space of a year, and as this is the 

 period when she brings forth again, it is then obliged to shift for 

 itself. 



" If the mother be attacked, she defends herself valiantly : raising 

 herself upon her haunches, she strikes with her sharp claws at the 

 enemy ; this is chiefly done with the right foot, while the left rests 

 on the ground ; but she quickly changes their respective positions 

 when the attack is carried to the other side : the young one remains 

 all the while clinging to her. If the danger increase, she throws 

 herself upon her back, and strikes with both claws at her enemy*. 



"I have been assured by a highly-credible person, that the Jaguar 

 finds it difficult to conquer the Ant-bear, and the fight which en- 

 sues was described to me as characteristic. It happens frequently 

 that both combatants remain dead upon the spot, or that one does 

 not sun'ive the other many hours. The force which the Ant-bear 

 possesses in its fore feet is astonishing, and I have no doubt that it 

 is well able to rip open the belly of its assailant ; nevertheless, I 

 should scarcely have supposed that the Ant-bear proved formidable 

 to the fiercest of American animals. 



" A young one, estimated about four weeks old, was presented to 

 me by Dom Pedro Ayres. While riding on horseback over the Sa- 

 vannahs, he discovered the parent with the young, and immediately 

 gave chase. After she had kept the horse in full canter for half an 

 hour, she found herself so closely pressed that she put herself in de- 

 fence : my friend was ready with the lasso, and having thrown it 

 dexterously over her, she was secured. To the last moment the 

 young one had clung to the mother. There being only one person 

 to assist him, he found it impossible to lead her to the fort, she was 

 therefore secured to a tree on the Savannahs. Dom Pedro Ayres, 

 however, carried the young one off, and brought it to me. We 

 despatched a sufficient number of men in quest of the mother, but 

 she had found means to get rid of the ropes, and had escaped. 



" The young one measured over the forehead along the back, from 

 the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail, twenty-two and a half 

 inches ; the tail was twelve and a half inches, and it stood nine and 

 three quarter inches high. In lieu of the yellowish white of the legs, 

 and the bands of the same colour, which give such a remarkable ap- 

 pearance to the adult, there were in the young animal gray hairs, 

 tinged with white : in all other respects it resembled its mother in 

 colouring. 



* " If the Ant-bear should succeed in throwing its arms round its enemy, 

 and in fixing its claws in the flesh, nothing can disengage it from its em- 

 brace ; the muscles grow stiff, and I l>ave been told, without being able to 

 vouch for its veracity, that in this situation both animals die." 



