A Naturalist’s Notes from the Bush 299 
Again, through closed lips I drew my breath sharply, producing that shrill effect 
so frequently in demand when one is desirous of attracting the attention of a dog, 
caged bird, or encouraging a horse to quicken its pace; and once more the effect. 
upon the animal was most pronounced, the porcupine instantly assuming a_ball-like 
attitude and setting every spine on end. A second time I tried the same experiment, 
and the animal at once commenced to burrow. 
Since I eventually maintained perfect silence, burrowing operations were soon 
deemed a superfluous effort, and the animal somewhat deliberately unfolded from its 
spherical pose, pausmg for a moment to veconnoitre ere it resumed the interesting 
occupation of unearthing its treasures from thew case-hardened, weather-crusted receptacle. 
With little hind-legs well set apart and long, pointed snout nearly hidden beneath 
its chest, the porcupine tore away the caked exterior of the ant-heap, much as the 
Enelish mole, when alarmed during a moonlght ramble, burrows into the outside 
walls of its dome-like edifice. The broken earth was cast ‘aside, not rapidly, or even 
energetically, but with a most effective shovelling stroke, serving to reach in a 
surprisingly short time the nurseries and egg-stores of the ant colony. 
With great rapidity the porcupime’s tongue—which is very long and slender—was 
darted imto the midst of the excited and teeming millions of ants, the glutinous 
substance peculiar to insect-eating animals and birds retainmg them till swallowed. 
‘Long before the supply was exhausted the ant-hill was abandoned, which, one is 
led to think, suggests that a succession of visits is made by the porcupine to yarious 
ant colonies in the course of its search for food. 
My own painful experiences supplied the knowledge that the species of ant thus 
unearthed is of a savage disposition, sharp, contimuous, throbbing twinges being the 
effect of its sting. 
The porcupine, upon vacating the 
hollow it had excavated in the ant-heap, 
leisurely rubbed its long, delicate snout 
against the softer fur of its fore-arm, 
then, with a quite consequential air, walked 
slowly away among the ferns. 
Only once do I recollect seeing a 
porcupine quicken its pace to a run, and 
then merely for a few yards, incited into 
such unusual activity by the iridescent 
hues of a burrowing fire-beetle. 
As is so conspicuous in all animals, 
especially when studied midst the sur- 
roundings of their natural environment, 
the physical protection provided for the 
porcupine is notably in keeping with its 
modus vivendi. How many enemies this 
animal would be forced to contend with 
were it not for the wound-inflicting array 
of spikes with which it is so admirably 
guarded; a guard so sharp, so_ strong, 
and so effective that great difficulty is 
experienced in handling the owner even 
when dead! 
The tenacity with which the animal ay a A 
clings to the ground when attempts are PORCUPINE-ANTRATER AT HOME. 
