THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
483 
that the ant-bear uses it for an umbrella whenever it wishes to sleep under 
cover. Its great size (five to seven feet), its long, curved beak, its feet so 
little suited for rapid locomotion, all unite to render the animal noticeable even 
though not handsome. It is not unfrequently called the tamanoir. 
The Tamandu ( Tamandua tetradactyla) is smaller, its hair is not allowed 
to be so long and unkempt, and the fore-shortening of its head makes it a 
much more handsome creature. The Little Ant-eater ( Coclothurus didactylus ) 
is arboreal and in many ways suggests the squirrel. Its tail is prehensile, it 
sits on its haunches and uses its front paws; its' foot-and-three-quarters of 
length is provided with a very fine, silken fur; and like all its tribe it has a 
somewhat more than ample provision of tongue. 
Among the edentates is the Aard-vark, or Earth-hog ( Orycteropus capensis), 
which though lacking the armor of the armadillo, is nevertheless an ant-eater 
who displays the same taste in diet, and the family skill as a grave-digger, a 
miner, and a burrower. Southern Africa, that new wonder-land, is the habitat 
of the aard-vark. It is about five feet in length, the tail representing a foot 
and three-quarters. Its 
fore legs are very power¬ 
ful and furnished with 
hoofed claws, or clawed 
hoofs. For the world of 
the ants, the aard-vark is 
a terror more real and 
dangerous than the 
prowling burglar and 
safe-blower whose praises 
are celebrated in the 
daily papers. For with 
the coming of nightfall, 
the aard-vark sallies 
forth and with great di¬ 
rectness and singleness 
of purpose takes his way 
to some ant-hill. Once there he demolishes the walls of the structure, and 
with his viscid tongue sweeps the ants by quantities into his gluttonous 
stomach. 
The Long-tailed Manis, or Phatagin ( Mam's longicauda ), is an inhabitant 
of Africa, and his armor is very beautiful while at the same time it can be 
made to serve as a weapon of offence. The fact that the long tail claims three- 
fifths of a length of five feet makes the effect of the scales all the more strik¬ 
ing. The termite is the special quarry of the manis whose methods of swallow¬ 
ing the ants has already been explained when we were considering the insects. 
Another species of manis , the Short-tailed (pentadaetyla) , is found in India and 
Ceylon. It is gentle and can be converted into a pet. Both species of manis 
can burrow to the most surprising depths, which they are able to do by reason 
of their long and formidable claws. They are thus provisioned by nature to 
enable them to ravage ants’ nests, and they are armored as a protection against 
the sharp jaws of such ants as are able to destroy much larger creatures than 
the manis. 
LONG-TAILED MANIS. 
