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THE SLOTH. 225 
somewhat similar to that of the Ant-eater, and there are no tceth of any kind 
in the jaws. 
The food of the Echidna consists of ants and other insects, which it gathers 
into its mouth by means of the long extensile tongue. It is a burrowing 
animal, and is therefore furnished with limbs and claws of proportionate 
strength. Indeed, Lieutenant Breton, who kept one of these animals for 
some time, considers it as the strongest quadruped in existence in pro- 
portion to its size. On moder- 
ately soft ground it can hardl 
be captured, for it gathers all 
its legs under its body, and em- 
ploys its digging claws with such 
extraordinary vigour that it sinks 
into the ground as if by magic. 
The Echidna is tolerably widely 
spread over the sandy wastes 
of Australia, but has not been 
seen in the more northern por- 
tions of that country. 
IN the last group of the mam- 
malia we find a very remark- 
able structure, adapted to serve 
a particular end, and misunder- 
stood by zoologists. The com- 
mon SLOTH, sometimes called 
the TWO-TOED SLOTH, is a na- 
tive of the West Indies, where it 
is not very often seen, although it 
is not a very uncommon animal. 
The peculiarity to be noticed 
in all the Sloths, of which there 
are several species, is, that they 
pass the whole of their lives 
suspended, with their backs 
downwards, from the branches 
of trecs. The Sloth never gets 
upon a bough, but simply hooks 
his curved talons over it, and 
hangs in perfect security. In 
order to enable the animal to 
suspend itself without danger of 
falling, the limbs are enormously 
strong, the fore-legs are remark- 
able for their length, and the 
toes of all four feet are furnished 
with strong curved claws. Upon 
the ground the Sloth is eilely pon DOT Tee ee radius 
out of its element, as its limbs react 
are wholly unadapted for supporting the weight of the body, and its long 
tlaws cannot be employed as adjuncts to the feet. The only manner in 
which a Sloth can advance, when he is unfortunately placed in such a 
position, is by hitching his claws into any depression that may afford him a 
hold, and so dragging himself slowly and painfully forward. On the trees 
however, he is quite a different creature, full of life and animation, and 
traversing the branches at a speed which is anything but slothful. The 
Q 
Hii 
nH 
