THE SLOTH FAMILY.

SLOTHS.

The Sloths are a strange kind of animal, which, from their more prominent characteristics and climbing habits, were for a long time classed among the Monkeys. When they are examined on the ground they appear deformed and incapable of active motion, for they can only move with extreme slowness. This peculiarity is the origin of their name. In fact, their fore-legs are so much longer than the hind ones, that in walking they are obliged to drag themselves along on their knees.

But if we follow its motions on a tree, in the midst of those conditions of existence which are natural to it, the Sloth leaves on our mind a very different impression. We then recognize that there is in them no want of harmony, and that they, like every other creature, possess the means of protecting themselves from the attacks of their enemies. They embrace the branches with their strong arms, and bury in the bark the enormous claws which terminate their four limbs.

As the last joint of their toes is movable, they can bend them to a certain extent, and thus convert their claws into powerful hooks, which enable them to hang on trees. Hidden in the densest foliage, they browse at their ease on all that surrounds them; or, firmly fixed by three of their legs, they use the fourth to gather the fruit and convey it to their mouths. Their coat is harsh, abundant and long; and they have neither tail nor any visible external ear. They are natives of the forests of South America; the two best known being the Unau and the Ai, which are found in Guiana, Brazil, Peru and Columbia.

ARMADILLOS.

This family is remarkable for the very peculiar nature of their coat, which, at first sight, might lead to their being taken for Reptiles. Instead of being cladin hair, like other Mammals, they have the upper part of the head, the top and sides of the body and the tail protected by a scaly covering, very hard in its nature. This covering is composed of a number of bony plates, arranged in parallel rows and of various shapes; it is not separate from the skin, but forms a very curious modification of it. On the head, and fore-part of the body, these plates are firmly fixed to one another; but on the middle of the back they are possessed of a certain amount of mobility, so as to move one over the other. In this way, the animal has the power of executing various bending and stretching movements, for instance, of rolling itself up into a ball whenever it is attacked.

When pursued it makes hastily for its burrow, but if unable to gain it, or to dig a temporary retreat, it partially rolls itself into a ball, and allows itself to be turned about by its enemy without attempting to move. The Armadillo, we are told, in Nicaragua is kept not only by the people of the ranches, but by the inhabitants of some of the little towns, to free their houses from ants, which it can follow by scent. When searching for ants about a house, the animal puts out its tongue and licks the ants into its mouth from around the posts on which the houses are raised a little above the ground. It has been known to dig down under the floors, and remain absent for three or four weeks at a time. They are said to dig down in a straight direction when they discover a subterranean colony of ants, without beginningat the mouth or entrance of the ant-hole. They are very persevering when in pursuit of ants; and while they turn up light soil with the snout, keep the tongue busy taking the insects. The burrows of this Armadillo are several feet long, winding and generally dug at an angle of 45 degrees. The South American negroes, however, dig them up from their holes, whither they have been driven by Dogs. Their flesh is considered very delicate, and is roasted in the shell.

ANT-EATER OR ANT BEAR.

The Ant-eaters feed upon a variety of insects. They are specially organized for procuring this food. Completely destitute of teeth, the head is terminated by an elongated tube, which encloses a very long tongue, something like a worm. This slender tongue, being darted into the ant-hills, all the interstices where the insects take refuge yield numerous victims, which adhere to it through the gummy secretion with which it is covered. The Ant-eaters are armed with sharp claws, useful both as instruments for scratching and weapons of defence.

The most remarkable species is the Great Ant-eater, the largest of the family. It grows to more than a yard and a half in length, from the tip of its long nose to its tail. Its coat is rough, abundant and of a dark color. The tail, covered with very long and extremely bushy hair, has the power of being raised like a plume, and is more than a yard in length. The strength of this animal is so great that it can defend itself successfully against the ferocious Jaguar, which it either hugs, like a Bear, or tears to pieces with its formidable claws.

It lives in damp forests in which its insect food is most abundant.

There are two other species of the Ant-eater, which live more or less on trees and enjoy, on this account, one of the characteristics which are peculiar to American Monkeys—that of grasping branches firmly with the tail, a portion of which is bare of hair underneath, and capable of being twisted round any object. These species are the Tamandua, an Ant-eater about three feet long, which divides its time between the ground and the thick foliage of trees; and the Little, or Two-toed Ant-eater, so called because it has only two toes, instead of four, on the front feet. This latter species is a native of Brazil and Guiana. It but seldom descends to the ground, and is not much larger than a Rat.

The Pangolins are also Ant-eaters, but the peculiar nature of the covering of their bodies will not allow them to be classed with the preceding family. The hair of their coat is glued together so as to form large scales, inserted in the skin in nearly the same way as the nails of a Man, and lapping one over the other, like the slates of a roof. From their strong resemblance to Reptiles, the name Scaly Lizard has been applied to these creatures.

The Pangolin (from the Javanese word Pangoeling, meaning to roll into a ball) have short legs, furnished with stout claws; they are devoid of any external ear and have no trace of teeth. Their method of feeding is exactly the same as that of the Ant-eaters; but their head, although elongated in shape, is not quite so long, and their tongue is less slender.

They dwell in forests, where they dig burrows, or lodge in the hollow of trees. When they are attacked, they roll themselves into a ball, like the Armadillo; at the same time their scales are erected, forming an impregnable buckler. This family possesses several species.

The Pangolins are of medium size; they never exceed a yard in length. They are natives of the Old World exclusively; India and the Malay Isles, the south of China, and a great part of Africa, are the regions in which they are usually found.

Although the animals look at first sight like curious, heavy-bodied Lizards, they have warm blood, and nourish their young like the rest of the Mammalia. The Pangolin lives in burrows in the earth, or sometimes in the large hollows of colossal trees which have fallen to the ground. The burrows are usually made in light soil on the slope of a hill. There are two holes to each gallery: One for entrance, and another for exit. This is quite necessary on account of the animal being quite incapable of curving its body sideways, so that it cannot turn itself in its burrow.

The bodies of Pangolins are very flexible vertically—that is, they can roll themselves up into a ball, and coil and uncoil themselves very readily—but they cannot turn round within the confined limits of their burrows.

“In hunting them,” says M. Du Chaillu, “we had first to ascertain by the foot-marks, or more readily by the marks left by the trail of the tail, which was the entrance and which the exit of the burrow, and then making a trap at one end, drive them out by the smoke of a fire at the other, afterwards securing them with ropes.

“Their flesh is good eating. Those I captured were very lean, but I was informed by the natives that they are sometimes very fat.”

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