30 CUHIOUS HOMES AND THEIR TENANTS. 



and he walks on the bottom of his feet like a bear. 

 His light, pinkish skin, sparsely covered with bristles, 

 again suggests the pig ; but the mouth has only a small 

 opening, and as a long, worm-shaped tongue, coated 

 with a slimy secretion, makes its appearance, the crea- 

 ture is seen to belong to that strange group of mam- 

 mals called ant-eaters. 



Like all animals of this sort, he sleeps through the 

 day and seeks his food at night. His burrows, though 

 they do not penetrate far below the surface, are of 

 considerable extent and dimensions ; they are often 

 two or more feet in diameter and three or four feet 

 deep before they branch off into the large chamber 

 which forms the sleeping apartment and nursery 

 where the little ones are born and reared. Here the 

 animal retreats in time of danger, and although one 

 of the largest of burrowing animals, the aard-vark can 

 work its way through the earth as rapidly as a mole, 

 and when pursued can dig so fast as to disappear be- 

 neath the surface before his pursuers can approach 

 near enough to seize him, and can burrow through the 

 ground more quickly than his enemies can shovel out 

 the soil after him. Indeed, his claws and limbs, though 

 not proportionately as strong as those of the mole, are 

 most admirably adapted to his manner of life. The 

 claws, which are long, strong, and hollowed out on 

 their under surfaces, diminish in size from the inner 

 to the outermost toe — a peculiar formation that, taken 

 in connection with the moderate curve they make from 

 root to point, without doubt greatly facilitates burrow- 

 ing. Moreover, the strength of the aard-vark is suf- 



