608 



THE TROPICAL WOELD. 



abode ; his immense tail is large enough to cover his whole body, and serves him as a 

 tent during the night, or as a waterproof mantle against the rains of the wet season, so 

 that he might boast, like Diogenes, of carrying all he required about him. 



The peculiar position of his paws, when he walks or stands, is worthy of notice. 

 He goes entirely on the outer side of his fore-feet, which are quite bent inwards, the 

 claws collected into a point and going under the foot. In this position he is quite at 

 ease, while his long claws are disposed of in a manner to render them harmless to him, 

 and are prevented from becoming dull and worn, which would inevitably be the case 

 did their points come in actual contact with the ground, for they have not that retrac- 

 tile power which is given to animals of the feline race, enabling them to preserve the 

 sharpness of their claws on the most flinty path. In consequence of its resting perpet- 

 ually on the ground, the whole outer side of the foot is not only deprived of hair, but 

 hard and callous, while, on the contrary, the inner side of the bottom of the foot is 

 soft and hairy. 



Besides the great ant-bear, there are two other species of American ant-eaters, one 

 nearly the size of a fox, and the smallest not much larger than a rat. Being provided 

 with prehensile tails, they are essentially arboreal, while the great ant-bear, incapable 

 of climbing, always remains on the ground, where, thanks to the abundance of his 

 prey, he is always sure of obtaining a sufficient supply of food with very little trouble. 



The Manides, Pangolins, or scaly Ant-eaters of South Africa and Asia, resemble 

 their kindred of America in having a very long extensile tongue, furnished with a 

 glutinous mucus for securing their insect food, and in being destitute of teeth, but 

 differ wholly from them in having the body, limbs, and tail covered with a panoply of 

 large imbricated scales, overlapping each other like those of the lizard tribes, and also 

 in being able to roll themselves up when in danger, by which their trenchant scales 

 become erect, and present a formidable defensive armor, so that even the tiger would 

 vainly attempt to overcome the Indian pangolin. The manides are inoffensive animals, 

 living wholly on ants and termites, and chiefly inhabit the most obscure parts of the 

 forest, burrowing in the ground to a great depth, for which purpose, as also for ex- 

 tracting their food from ant-hills and decaying wood, their feet are armed with power- 

 ful claws, which they double up in walking, like the ant-bear of Brazil. 



Besides several species of manides, Africa possesses a peculiar class of ant-eaters in 

 the Orycteropi, which are found from the Cape to Senegambia and Abyssinia, all over 

 the sultry plains where their food abounds. Their legs are short, and provided with 

 claws fit for burrowing in the earth, which they can do with great rapidity ; and when 

 once the head and fore-feet have penetrated into the ground, their hold is so tenacious 

 that even the strongest man is incapable of dragging them from their hole. 



The Orycteropi, or earth-hogs (Aard-varks) as they are called by the boors, from 

 their habit of burrowing and their fancied resemblance to small short-legged pigs, have 

 an elongated head, though less tapering than that of the American myrmecophagi, 

 and are provided with peculiarly formed teeth, with a flat crown and undivided root, 

 which is pierced with a multitude of little holes, like those of a ratan-cane when cut 

 transversely, while the ant-bears have no teeth at all. Their way of feeding is the 

 same, and to enable them to retain their nimble-footed prey, their tongue is likewise 

 lubricated with a glutinous liquid. Their flesh is considered very wholesome and pal- 

 atable, and at the Cape they are frequently hunted both by the colonists and the Hot- 



