670 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History [Vol. LXVI 



but principally by reason of its scarcity. They roam about during the 

 night, singly or in pairs, as may be seen from the impressions of their 

 claws left on moist ground." 



Habitat. — It was recorded that an aard-vark was captured by 

 natives somewhat north of Rungu. North and northeastward of 

 Niangara to Farad je the animal was said to occur everywhere. Mr. Lang 

 considered it a " constant resident of the vast plainlike stretches which 

 are abundantly covered by stunted trees and thick low bushes." There 

 termites were abundant, and as they constituted the only food of Orycter- 

 opus, these animals found an ample supply and were usually well 

 nourished. 



Hunting by the Natives. — The relation of the aard-vark to the 

 native life in the district as it existed at the time of the Congo Expedi- 

 ton is suggested by the following extract from the field book: "The 

 native manner of securing the Orycteropus in these regions lends itself 

 to adventure and has given rise to general and very deep set superstitions. 



"It is currently held that some have lost their lives in the burrows 

 and have never been heard of again. The native hunters usually track 

 the Orycteropus to its burrow after a heavy rain, and having ascertained 

 the exact locality they start out in numbers to secure the highly valued 

 prize. Among the Azande and Logo, and probably among related 

 tribes, it is the custom that one young fellow well supplied with 'medicine ' 

 enters the burrow armed only with a short handled spear or a long knife. 

 If he is lucky he encounters the beast which usually tries to save itself by 

 digging and throwing the excavated ground in the face of its pursuer; 

 if it succeeds in placing a wall between the man and itself before he can 

 successfully place his spear the man considers the undertaking a failure 

 and tries to retreat. If however, the native can kill it he will indicate 

 his position to the eagerly waiting outsiders by tapping against the 

 upper wall. As rapidly as possible the natives sink a shaft in his direc- 

 tion and lift out the dead Orycteropus and the valiant hunter who is 

 seldom deeper than five feet below the surface. 



"The teeth are worn around the wrist by the Mangbetu, Azande, 

 Logo, and affiliated tribes to prevent illness and to ward off ill fortune. 

 The bristly hair of the nostrils and that between the toes is said to be 

 fatal if well powdered and thrown into their beer. The consumer's neck 

 is said to swell to such an extent that death usually occurs after three 

 days. The claws carried in the baskets of women that are collecting the 

 winged edible variety of termites insure an ample supply. The meat has 

 a strong odor and the appearance of pork; it is eaten by the Azande, 

 Mangbetu, and Logo." 



