HUNTING — FISHING— WARS AND EXPEDITIONS. 25 



The animals who feed on species living in societies 

 either seize on their prey when isolated or when all 

 the members of the colony are united in their city. A 

 search for the nest is necessary in the case of creatures 

 who are very small in comparison with the hunter, as 

 in the case of ants and the Ant-eater. But the ant- 

 eater .possesses a very long and sticky tongue, which 

 renders the capture of these insects extremely easy ; 

 when he finds a frequented passage it is enough to 

 stretch out his tongue ; all the ants come of their own 

 accord and place themselves on it, and when it is 

 sufficiently charged he withdraws it and devours 

 them. The African Orycteropus (Fig. 2), who is also 

 a great eater of ants and especially of termites, is 

 equally aided by a very developed tongue ; but he 

 has less patience than the ant-eater, and he adds to 

 this resource other proceedings which render the hunt 

 more fruitful and enable him to obtain a very large 

 number of insects at one time. Thanks to his keen- 

 ness of scent he soon discovers an ant-path bearing 

 the special and characteristic odour which these 

 Hymenoptera leave behind them, and he follows the 

 track which leads to their nest. On arriving there, 

 without troubling himself about the scattered insects 

 that prowl in the neighbourhood, he sets himself to 

 penetrate into the midst of the dwelling, and with his 

 strong claws hollows out a passage which enables him 

 to gain access. On the way he pierces walls, breaks 

 down floors, gathering here and there some fugitives, 

 and arrives at last at the centre, in which millions of 

 animals swarm. He then swallows them in large 

 mouthfuls and ^retires, leaving behind him a desert 

 and a ruin in the spot before occupied by a veritable 

 palace, full of prodigious activity. 



