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NOTES AND QUERIES. 



MAMMALIA. 



Note on the Scaly Ant-Eater (Manis temmincki). — To trace the 

 origin of curious native sayings or superstitions concerning animals is 

 always a matter of interest, and there are few animals in this country 

 which havfe given rise to more of these than the Scaly Ant-Eater, or 

 "Aka," as the natives call it. Among the Mashonas this weird beast, 

 which looks more like a reptile than a mammal in its general appear- 

 ance, used formerly to be regarded as a special perquisite of the chiefs, 

 and woe betide any venturesome persons who dared to regale them- 

 selves on its much-prized flesh, as the punishment for this was death ; 

 and, according to most of my informants, the offender was usually 

 killed while asleep, though I failed to find out whether there was any 

 special reason for this. On the other hand, if the lucky finder of one 

 of these animals fulfilled his duty by bringing it to his chief, he was 

 presented with a cow as a reward. The reason for this munificent 

 payment is probably due to the assertion of the Kaffirs that this 

 animal has gold in its entrails. " Not the white man's gold," as one 

 of my "boys" informed me, " but Portuguese gold " ; meaning thereby 

 that I was not to expect to find sovereigns, but raw gold. On in- 

 quiring further from this youth, who belongs to Chikwakwa's tribe, I 

 was told that the Pangolins were very scarce about his home, and there 

 were only certain Kaffirs who knew how to find them ; that they lived 

 principally near the big rivers, and would come out at night to dig in 

 the ground for the gold on which they feed. I had always regarded 

 this eating of gold as more or less of a myth, but recently a wounded 

 Ant-Eater came into my hands, being only the second specimen which 

 I had seen alive, and I was determined to see whether there was any 

 foundation for this curious belief. After the animal had been skinned, 

 I carefully examined the contents of the stomach. This contained 

 numerous heads of a large-eyed termite [Hodotermes), which is common 

 in many parts of the country, but mixed with these was a good handful 

 of quartz pebbles and sand. On seeing this, not only the origin, but 

 also the probable truth of the natives' assertion became obvious at 

 once ; for when digging into the nests of ants and termites, and 



