NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



tongue is conical and long, and can be thrust as 

 much as ten inches out of the mouth. 



The Ant-Eater, after excavating a cavity in the 

 side of a termite's nest or hill, thrusts out this long 

 tongue, which is covered with a sticky mucus. 

 The alarmed termites swarm out into the breach 

 and stick in thousands to the tongue, which is 

 withdrawn into the animal's mouth, and the termites, 

 after being chewed a few times, are swallowed. The 

 tongue darts rapidly out and in, until the nest is 

 exhausted of its inhabitants, or the creature's appe- 

 tite is appeased. The number of termites required 

 to satisfy so bulky an animal as an Aard Vark must 

 be prodigious. The ease and celerity with which 

 it is able to pick up individual termites, ants, beetles, 

 grasshoppers, locusts and other insects is astonishing. 



The entrances of an Ant-Eater's nostrils are 

 covered thickly with hairs, arranged in such a way 

 as to present an effectual barrier to the entrance 

 of ants and termites into the nasal cavities. When 

 captured, the chief difficulty is to induce the Ant 

 Bear to eat. Once it can be induced to take food, 

 there is no further difficulty, for it soon becomes 

 quite tame, and continues to keep in good condition 

 and thrive unless confined in too small a cage, as 

 is so commonly the case in Zoological Gardens. 

 We have succeeded in keeping Ant Bears for long 

 periods in health and strength on mincemeat mixed 

 with cow's milk. Captive Ant Bears, during the 

 daytime, lie coiled up asleep in the darkest corner 



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