The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1913-09-26
KIN OF ANT EATER.
South African Animal That Digs
Hole and Disappears.
Aard-vark Has Only Rudimentsry
Teeth With Legs Like Those Of
the Kanearoo-specimens Very
Hard to Secure.

New York--Did you ever see an
aard-yark? asks a writer in the New
York World. Perhaps you know It
better by its Latin name. orycteropus2
No? They haven't got one in the zo-
illogical collection in Bronx park, nor.
SO far as the writer has been able
to learn. in any Of the famous ZOOS or
menageries Of the world For the
aard-vark is delicate animal, accord.
ing to Curator Ditmars. and not easily
acclimated.
The aard-varth was thought to be
myth until the Dutch and English be
scribed by P. Kolbe in 1742 in an &C
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 it has had
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 its
members are either tcothless or have
only rudimentary or defective teeth
1t is a cousin Of the ant bears. the
/ armadilloes and the pangolins OF
South America It is about six feet
long, including the tail. and about
| twenty inches high. Its back lie
arched. it's head long and ending in
a snout like pigs. only sharper and
longer. Its forelegs are short. its hind
/ legs much larger. like those of kan
CARGO, and its tail is heavy and almost
as long as its body. Its ears are long
and erect, like an ass It has small;
piggy eyes, 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 a gummy saliva.
1t 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 its food In the daytime II
stays curled up and asleep in a bur
row which it closes behind it 1t digs
hole even in the hardest ground
with Incredible rapidity and disap
pears in a few moments. for the foul
toes on its front feet are armed with
strong claws which it plies rapidly
scooping out the earth and throwing
it behind itself in great cloud o.
dust
At night it energies and goes on
hunting for ant hills. As soon as i
has found one it makes sure that NJ
danger is menacing. then it lies dowr
with its snout against the ant hill
puts out its tongue as far as it cal
and waits. Soon its tongue is coveret
with ants, caught like flies on stick.
fiypaper. Then it draws in its tongue
chews up the ants and begins again
1t is very timid and so keen of ca
that it catches every faint sound. A
the slightest alarm 1t digs hole an
buries itself It never attacks any
thing but insects. yet when attacks
it defends itself with its powerful
claws in a way that makes it danger
! Gus.
When surprised by the hunter II a
. most always has its head and shou
! ders in a hole, and it takes SO tight
grip on the earth that If the hunte
tries to pull 1t forth he is almost Gel
. tain to fail.
! Its flesh is highly priced in Afrtc
! and 1t is said to taste like pork II
!, easily tanned in its native land. an
!. in the days of Egypt's ancient grea
, ness must have been a pet for ladiei
|, as on the tomb of Abd-ei-Gournah {
the nineteenth dynasty there
craven q picture Of noblewona
with an orycteropus following her lii
5 dog.