STORY OF THE AARD-VARK. 
When in South Africa among the Boers, I frequently shot those ugly and 
ungainly animals the Boers call aard-varks, or, in English, earth-pigs. It 
is not always easy to get a shot at one, for they are keen of hearing, and rush 
to their burrows at the slightest unusual sound. When unable to reach their 
burrows, they dig into- the ground where they happen to be, and they are so 
powerful that they can soon sink their large bodies out of sight even when 
the ground is hard and sun-baked. 
The body of the aard-vark, which is usually almost naked, but sometimes 
thinly clad with bristly hairs, is heavy and ungainly. The long muzzle of the 
head is almost a trunk; the ears are of great length, and the tongue can be 
extended like that of the pangolin, although it is not so worm-like. The skin 
is of remarkable thickness, its general color being yellowish brown, with a 
tinge of red on the back and sides, while the head and under-parts are light 
reddish yellow; and the hind-quarters, the root of the tail, and the limbs brown. 
A full-grown aard-vark measures a little over six feet in total length. 
The teeth of the aard-vark differ from those of any other known animal. 
The Cape aard-vark inhabits South and South-Eastern Africa; it is replaced 
in North-Eastern Africa by the Ethiopian aard-vark; the former being dis¬ 
tinguished by the thicker coating of hair, more especially on the back and 
flanks, as well as by the thicker and shorter tail, and the longer head and ears. 
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