Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1913-09-25
KIN OF ANT EATER
South African Animal That Digs
Hole and Disappears.
Aard.vark Has Only Rudimentary
Teeth With Legs Like Those Of
the Kansaroo-speeimens Very
Hard to Secure.

New York.-Did you ever see an
aard.vark? asks a writer In the New
York World. Perhaps you know u
better by its Latin name. orycteropus'
No? They haven't got one In the 20
illogical collection in Bronx park. nor
SO far as the writer has been able
TO learn, in any OF the famous ZOOS OF
menageries OF the world. For the
aard-vark is a delicate animal. accord
ing TO Curator Ditmars, and not easily
acclimated.
The aard.varth was thought to be a
myth until the Dutch and English be-
gan to settle Africa. II was first de-
scribed by p. Kobe In 1742 In an ac'
count OF his travels in Cape Colony
but Button called in question his de-
scription. However. this is known to
be accurate.
The Paris museum has just received
an orycteropus, which II has hao
stuffed and placed on exhibition
There are three species. and that IN
Paris is the excessively rare orycter
opus Ethiopicus from the regions OF
the Blue Nile and Abyssinia. The
commonest species is that which is
found in eastern and southern Africa
as far north as Angola. The third
species is peculiar to Senegambia.
The aard.vark belongs to the order
of Edentata. so called because It's
members are either toothless or have
only rudimentary or defective teeth
II is a cousin OF the ant bears. tho
armadilloes and the pangolins OF
South America. II is about six feet
long, including the tail. and about
twenty inches high. Its back Is
arched its head long and ending In
snout like a pigs, only sharper and
longer. Its forelegs are short. its hind
legs much larger. like those Of a kan
CARGO, and its tail is heavy and almost
as long as its body. Its ears are long
and erect, like an ass. 1t has small
piggy eyes, a very thick skin. like a
pigs, covered with sparsely scattered
hair. and yellow all over.
Its tonge is very long, extensive and
always covered with gummy saliva
II protrudes from a mouth that is lit
tie more than a round hole. The
young animal has eight molars In the
upper jaw and six in the lower, but
the adult has only FIVE above and four
below. and all OF these are rudiamen'
tary.
The Ethiopian species lives in the
dessert, always near ant hills, for the
ants are it's food. In the daytime 1t
stays curled up and asleep in a bur
row which It closes behind It. 1t digs
a hole even in the hardest ground
with incredible rapidity and disap'
pears in a few moments. for the four
toes on its front feet are armed with
strong claws which 1t plies rapidly.
scooping out the earth and throwing
II behind itself in a great cloud OF
dust.
At night It energies and goes out
hunting for ant hills. AS soon as 1t
has found one II makes sure that no
danger is menacing. then 1t lies down
with its snout against the ant hill.
puts out its tongue as far as 1t can
and waits. Soon its tongue is covered
with ants, caught like flies on sticky
fiypaper. Then II draws in its tongue.
chews up the ants and begins again.
II is very timid and so keen OF ear
that II catches every faint sound. At
the slightest alarm It digs hole and
buries itself. II never attacks any
thing but insects. yet when attacked
II defends itself with its powerful
claws in a way that makes It danger
Gus.
When surprised by the hunter II al
most always has its head and shout
ders in a hole, and II takes so tight a
grip on the earth that II the hunter
tries to pull 1t forth he is almost GER
tain to fail.
Its flesh is highly priced in Africa
and II is said to taste like pork. 1t 10
easily tanned in its native land. and
in the days OF Egypt's ancient great
ness must have been a pet for ladies,
as on the tomb Of Abd-elGournah OF
the nineteenth dynasty there IL
craven a picture OF a noblewoman
with an orycteropus following her like
a dog.