Part 12 (1/2)

I have kept the Kangaroos to the last: not that they are the least interesting, but because these very singular animals are now so well-known, and their habits have been so often described, that it seems almost superfluous to say a word about them. I shall content myself with observing that the genus of the kangaroos has been divided into two sub-genera, the true Kangaroos, and those known as Kangaroo Rats. The difference, however, is not very great, since the rats are as mild and inoffensive in their habits as the kangaroos themselves. Of the kangaroo rats there are several species; but when we arrive at the true kangaroos we find a list altogether too numerous to mention. They are of all sizes, too, from that of the great giant kangaroo, that stands, or rather squats, full five feet in height, down to little tiny creatures not bigger than rabbits or squirrels. There are nearly fifty species in all inhabiting the known parts of the Australasian islands.

It may be remarked, in conclusion, that two or three other kinds of pouched animals, differing from all the foregoing, have been lately brought to light by recent explorers; but, since nothing certain has been ascertained in regard to their habits, it would be idle in this place even to mention their names.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

ANT-EATERS, ARMADILLOES, AND OTHER ODD ANIMALS.

This is, perhaps, the most interesting of the groups--interesting on account of the singular animals which compose it, every one of which may be termed an odd creature. In a strictly natural cla.s.sification these animals would not come together, since many of the species are unlike the others both in appearance and habits; but in a scientific point of view the absence of incisor teeth has caused them to be ranged together in a group, known as the _edentata_, or toothless animals.

In this group we shall give the first place to the true ant-eaters, and first speak of the ant-eaters of America. Of these there are four well-known species, the great Ant-bear, or Tamanoir; the Tamandua, or little Ant-bear; another little ant-bear, the Ringed Tamandua; and a very small species that differs much from the other three. They are all inhabitants of tropical America, and there are varieties of them in different districts.

The Tamanoir is by far the largest, often attaining the size of a Newfoundland dog; and the long hair which covers its sides, together with its immense bushy tail, give to it the appearance of being much bulkier than it is.

Its habits are tolerably well-known, const.i.tuting a very curious chapter in natural history which we have not s.p.a.ce to give. Suffice it to say that its food consists entirely of ants and termites, which of themselves form a strange feature in the zoology of tropical countries.

These it eats--not with teeth, but by means of its long slimy tongue, by which it is enabled to draw into its mouth hundreds of the little creatures at a time.

The two species of smaller ant-bears, or Tamanduas, obtain their sustenance in a similar manner, and in other respects are like their great congener; but they possess a power with which the latter is not gifted--that of climbing trees, and making their nests high up in the cavities of the trunks. They have the further power of being able to suspend themselves from the branches with their tails, which, like those of the opossums, are highly prehensile. The tamanduas do not live solely upon ant-diet. The wild bees, that build nests among the branches, are also objects of their attention; and their thick hairy skins appear to protect them from the stings of these insects.

The smallest species--called the Ouatiri, or Two-toed Ant-eater--differs altogether from the three above-mentioned. It more resembles a little monkey, and is covered all over with a thick coat of soft woolly hair of a yellowish colour. It is also a tree-climber, possesses a naked prehensile tail, and makes its nest in a hole in the trunk, or in one of the larger branches.

In Africa the ant-eaters are represented by several kinds of animals, differing essentially from each other in outward appearance, though all agreeing in their habits, or rather in the nature of their food.

The Aard-vark, or Earth-hog, of the Cape colonists, is the most noted kind. This animal is a long, low-bodied creature, with sharp-pointed snout, and an immense whip-like tongue, which he is capable of projecting to a great distance, in the same manner as the tamanoir. His body is covered with a dense shock of reddish-brown hair; and he dwells in a burrow, which he can cleverly make for himself--hence his trivial name of Ground-hog.

The other African ant-eaters are usually called Pangolins, or Manis.

These are covered with scales that resemble suits of ancient armour; and on this account they have sometimes been confounded with the armadilloes, though the two kinds of creatures are altogether different in their habits. The pangolins possess, in common with the armadilloes, the power of rolling themselves into a ball whenever attacked by an enemy--a fas.h.i.+on not peculiar to pangolins and armadilloes, but also practised by our own well-known hedgehog.

The Sloths belong to this group of mammalia; not that they have the slightest resemblance to the ant-eaters in any respect, but simply, as before stated, because they want the cutting teeth. They are not absolutely toothless, however, since they possess both canines and molars. With these they are enabled to masticate their food, which consists of the leaves and tender shoots of trees.

The name, _sloth_, is derived from the sluggishness of their movements, amounting almost to complete inactivity. They scarce stir from the spot in which they may be placed, or at all events move so slowly as to be a whole hour in getting from one tree to another, or even from one limb to another! They spend most part of their time upon the trees (the _cecropia peltata_ is their favourite), usually clinging to the branches with their backs downward; and in this way they crawl from one to another, uttering at intervals a plaintive cry, which resembles the syllable _ai_, uttered several times in succession. From this they derive one of their trivial names of Ai, or Ay-ay.

The sloths are all inhabitants of tropical America--dwellers in the great forests of Guiana and Brazil.