264 
TOOTHLESS ANT-EATERS 
has neither the strength nor the weapons with which to fight its 
enemies, and is not sufficiently swift in its movements to escape from 
them by taking to flight. But, clothed in its horny coat, it is perfectly 
safe from the strongest foe, and there are, indeed, very few animals 
which would care to meddle with it as it lies curled up, with its sharp 
plates projecting from its body. 
The Cape Ant-Eater—the Aard-Vark.— It is very pig-like 
in the look of its skin, which is light colored and has a few hairs on 
it. Moreover, the snout is somewhat like that of a pig, but the 
mouth has a small opening only, and to make the difference between 
the animals more noticeable, out comes a worm-shaped long tongue 
covered with mucus or a sticky fluid. 
In Southern Africa, whence this animal came, it is rarely seen by 
ordinary observers, for it burrows into the earth with its claws and 
makes an underground place to live in, and is nocturnal in its habits, 
sleeping by day. Wherever ant hills are found, there is a good chance 
to find one of the aard-varks, or innagus, or ant-bears, as the 
Dutch and natives call them, leading a sort of mole-like life. But it 
is not easy to catch, if the stories told be true. It is stated that the 
long, strong, flattened claws and short limbs, worked by their strong 
muscles, enable the animal to burrow in the soft soil as quickly as 
the hunters can dig, and that in a few minutes it will get out of the 
way; moreover, its strength is sufficient to resist the efforts of two or 
three men to drag it out of the hole. But, when fairly caught, the 
ant-eater does not resist much; it has no front teeth or eye-teeth to 
do any harm with, and it can be killed easily by a blow on the head. 
The ant-eater runs slowly, and never moves far from the entrance of 
its burrow, being seen to do so only at night-time. The burrows are 
often two feet in diameter and three or four feet deep before they 
branch off. Night is the time for ant-eating, for the active and 
industrious insects are then all at home and within their solid nests. 
Then the ant-eater sallies forth, finds a fresh nest, sprawls over it, 
and scratches a hole in its side, using his strong claws, and then intro¬ 
duces his long snout. Having satisfied himself that there is no danger 
at hand, the animal protrudes its long slimy tongue into the galleries 
and body of the nest, and it is at once covered with enraged ants, 
