The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1880-09-23
AN ANT-BEAR.

An Ant-bear, the first of the kind to lie
brought to America alive, lately arrived
at New York from Brazil A reporter OF
the World describes visit to the animal,
| as follows:
Thenoear rose on its legs, showing o
wonderfully elongated and narrow head.
1t is t.iickly covered with long, coarse
hair, which on the tail is halfway be-
tween the filaments of heavy plume and
the sticks of fan. The tail is used by
the bear with commendable ingenuity as
blanket, being for that purpose brought
around half-circle and spread just suf-
ficiently to entirely cover the body. Be-
sides serving as cover for warmth it
hides the animal Hunters not accus-
toned to the forests of Brazil which the
ant-bear inlabits step on it without
knowing that it is curiosity. The color
is brown washed with gray on the head
and face, and interspersed with pure
white hairs on the head and hinder limbs.
The throat is very black, and long,
triangular black mark crosses the animal
from the throat. passing obliquely over
the shoulders. Measuring from the tip
of the snout to the end of the tail the
bear is just trife more than six feet in
length. The head alone is one and a
half, and the tail two feet long. The
bear has four toes on the forefeet and
five on the hinder feet. The claws on
the fore-feet are extremely long and curv-
ed and of no use in walking. They are
used as defense against stronger ami
mails. Ii they are once implanted liz the
flesh of human being the wound is apt
to prove fatal. They are apt, also. not
to come out, so that the dying man can
kill the bear if he desires TO. The bear
has found that the safest way is to wind
Its snake-like head around the body of
Its foe. Its hug is particularly powerful.
The bear turned its claws inward upon
thich, rough palm and walked on the
outer edge of the fore-feet in lazy, awk-
ward manner to box two feet away.
The onl y indication of intelligence it dis
played was in scraping away the straw
for bed. 1t cannot walk long. The
bear came from Para by the schooner
Thomas Williams. Its owner, Mr..
Reiche, has had standing offer, for the
last ten years, to all the Captains sailing
from New York to Brazil, to pay good
sum for live ant-bear, and this animal
is the only living one ever brought to the
United States. Capt. Edward secured it
while 1t was sleeping, which it is very
capable at. Mr.. Reiche is negotiating to
sell it to the German Geological Garden
Company in Berlin for 81, 5O0 He says
that nc geological garden in the world
possesses live ant-bear. The London
Garden could keep one for only week.
1t died in the garden.
Mr.. Reiche feeds the bear with ex-
tremely finely .scraped beef mixed with
eggs and sugar. Every schoolboy, par
ticularly if lie has read Mayne Reid with
proper diligence. remembers the picture
of the ant-bear sweeping up thousand
live ants with tongue nearly two feet
long. The tongue, which is covered
with saliva, is a most effective ant-trap.
At first it did not take kindly to the
change of diet, and basin of ant eggs
soaked in lukewarm water was brought
The bear ate half of tie meal by tapping
up the eggs much the same as dogs eat
Turning to the dish of scraped meat, it
placed the tip of its long tongue on the
plate and returned it to its mouth with
out partaking of the food. The bear
then stood upon its feet, and, leaning its
head down, vertically spread its tongue
over the straw and make shrill noise
like tin whistle, and hobbled back to
its bed.