Evening journal., 1900-03-05
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LAZY ANIMALS.
There Are Several That Dislike Work
as Much as the Sloth.

dS muCn as Ine olotns
A bigger mistake was never penned
than that which described the sloth
as the LATEST animal known. Like the
snail. the poor slOth was never cut out
for anything better. Even when his
worst enemy, the keen-tOothed jaguar,
is chasing him through the green arch
es of the tropical forest, the wrctched
sloth cannot add another yard an hour
to his speed.
1t is easy to find a dozen cases Of
wild creatures whose dislike for hard
work far exceeds that of the sloth.
The first duty of any self-respecting
bird is surely to build nest IN which
to raise its young Yet look at the
number which shirk this.
The cuckoo has passed into a prov
erb. not only as the LATEST of lazy
birds. but as downright thief and
poacher. She not only presumes on the
kindness of other birds to lay her eggs
In their nests. but her young. when
hatched, cruelty tosses out its foster
brothers and sisters to perish on the
cold earth below. The cheeky sparrow,
too. has many of the bad habits of the
tramp. His nest when he makes one,
Is Of the most untidy description, and
barn swallows neat, mud-built
abode is very much to his taste If he
can seize IL during the absence of ita
proper owner.
Some creatures are much too lazy 70
feed themselves. There is large war.
rior ant the ancestors of which, many
generations ago, captured smaller anita
as slaves. In the course of ages the
fighting ants have become so helpless
and weak that II their slaves do not
attend them they simply lie, NOT know
ing how or where TO procure their
food
To such an extent. indeed has this
proceeded that the very structure OF
the Amazon Ant, as il is called, has
slowly altered. till fits jaws have lost
their teeth and are become mere nip
pers-deadly weapons. indeed but
useless except for purposes of war Not
only do their slaves feed them, but
also carry them on their backs from
palce to place
The flshhawk is another creature
that prefers its hard work done for It,
1t hovers over the gulls as they are
fishing, spots one rising with a plump
mackerel in it's claws, and swoops
down like a thunderbolt. The poor
gull, scared out of its senses, drops It's
feast which the pirate seizes ere II
reaches the water. and devOurs itself
In the water one finds many crea.
lures that are too lazy to do their own
travelling. and so find something else
to act as steed The remora. or suck
/ ling fish, thinks nothing of n thou
snnd-mile trip fastened tight on the
back of a shark or the hull Of a ship
and when 1t let's go never dreams OF
offering a fare, or even so much as Z
thank you. Another small fish with &
big Latin name travels in the moutl
of the Brazilian catfish.
Crabs. some Of them. are not very
energetic. The little peacrab general
ly fOists himself upon the mussel Oi
| oyster, and lives In comfort on tn,
spoils Of his unwilling host. The her
NIT crab seems, through ages of lazi
ness. to have lost the power of form
i ing for himself a she'll of any kind S,
10 save himself from becoming a TT
bit for the first prowler he hides hi
ielly-like form in the recesses Of thl
iirst old shell he may come across.
The amount Of creatures whicl
trade on others for homes and plaee
Of refuge is legion. Owls live in prairi'
dogs burrows, petrels of the CHECKER
Islands In lizards burrows, Will
snakes Of every description take ref
uge in the holes Dug by rabbits, tor
toiscs, or other earth tunnelers.