THE AARD OR EARTH WOLF 
sleep by day and roam by night, and will romp and 
play and seek food at any time of day. Many other 
animals, which in their wild condition are nocturnal, 
change this habit when captured young, and become 
alert and active during the daytime. The Honey 
Ratel is an example. So timid are these Aard 
Wolves that when adults are captured it is very 
difficult to induce them to eat. An animal dealer 
of my acquaintance at various times purchased 
adult Aard Wolves from Hottentots who dug them 
out of burrows. In most instances they refused 
all food and died in a week or two. The young 
ones, however, quickly become reconciled to cap- 
tivity, and after a day’s fast will eat freely of mince- 
meat, boiled eggs, or eggs and milk. I have from 
long experience found it inadvisable to give starchy 
foods such as bread or porridge to animals whose 
-diet in the wild condition consisted entirely of 
flesh, which includes all forms of life other than 
vegetable. Starchy food causes indigestion, with 
subsequent bowel troubles, for the reason that the 
digestive juices of strictly carnivorous animals are 
not adapted for the digestion of starch in any form. 
However, with care it is quite possible to accustom 
carnivorous animals to a starchy diet, but the work 
must be begun when they are young—the younger 
the better. 
The domestic dog and cat are instances of flesh- 
eating animals whose digestive juices have been 
modified to digest starch. In its native condition 
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