376 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



Mole, for it spends most of its time in burrowing. It is the smallest 

 Armadillo known, being hardly six inches long, and has a rather pretty 

 appearance, its armour-plating being pink, and the hair on its under- 

 pays, which is silky and abundant, and conceals the small eyes and 

 ears, pure white. There are no solid shoulder- and hip-shields, but the 

 body is covered from head to hinder end, which is, as it were, cut off 

 flat, with a series of transverse bands. The flat hind end has a solid 

 shield, notched below for the short tail, which is permanently turned 

 downwards. The limbs are very short and the claws well adapted for 

 burrowing, the centre fore-claws being especially enlarged. The home 

 of this curious animal, which is not common, is the sandy districts of 

 Western Argentina ; it has but one relative, from Bolivia {Chlamydo- 

 phorus retusus), which is not quite so small in size. 



THE AARD-VARKS 



The Aard-Varks or Ant-Bears {Orycteropodidcs) of Africa are placed 

 with the Edentates on much the same principle as the Cobego is asso- 

 ciated with the Insectivores, because they will not "fit in" anywhere 

 else, their relationship to the other families of this order being very 

 questionable. 



They are most extraordinary-looking animals, about the size of small 

 Pigs, and something like a caricature of a Pig in appearance. The snout 

 is long, with the end broad, but the mouth small ; the ears long like a 

 Hare's, the tail very thick at the root and rapidly tapering, and the 

 limbs short and with four toes on the front and five on the hind paws, 

 all with strong straight claws. The' mouth is well provided, except at 

 the front, with peg-like teeth, and the tongue is long, though not so 

 much so as in the Ant-eaters. In captivity, at any rate, the animal 

 often feeds in a different way, for one I watched sucked up its bread- 

 and-milk just like a Pig,' and did not lick its food like an Ant-eater. 

 Yet in the wild state they appear to feed on Ants in the same way as 

 those animals. They are great burrowers; making huge earths, but, as 

 they come out at night, are rarely seen. There are two species or races, 

 the Ethiopian {Orycteropus cethiopicus) from North-East Africa, which 

 is nearly naked, and the Cape Ant-Bear (O. capensis), which is covered 

 with hair ; and both have been on view at the London Zoological 

 Gardens. 



