. Mammals of other lands;. Mammals. 306 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD The Aard-vark The custom of naming newly discovered animals after well-known forms to which they are supposed to bear some resemblance, physically or otherwise, is a common one. The animal now under consideration shows this once more, having originally received the name of Aard-vark (Earth-pig) from the Boers of the Cape. The aard-vark is a most decidedly ugly animal, and justifies its name in several particulars. It is hunted for the sake of its hide, which is of great thickness and resembles that of the pig, but is spars
. Mammals of other lands;. Mammals. 306 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD The Aard-vark The custom of naming newly discovered animals after well-known forms to which they are supposed to bear some resemblance, physically or otherwise, is a common one. The animal now under consideration shows this once more, having originally received the name of Aard-vark (Earth-pig) from the Boers of the Cape. The aard-vark is a most decidedly ugly animal, and justifies its name in several particulars. It is hunted for the sake of its hide, which is of great thickness and resembles that of the pig, but is sparsely covered with hairs, the general shape of its body being not unlike that of a long-headed, short-legged, heavy-tailed pig. The whole animal is about 6 feet long. In a wild state, or even in captivity, it is but rarely seen, since it is a night-feeder, and passes the day in sleep deep down in a burrow. This burrow it digs for itself with the aid of powerful claws borne on the fore feet. It lives principally on ants and termites, breaking down their nests, and remorselessly sweeping up the frightened occupants with a long, sticky tongue, as soon as they rush to the seat of the disturbance which has broken up the harmony and order of their community. At one time it was believed that the aard-vark was a close ally of the pangolin, but later researches have disproved this, and have furthermore thrown doubt upon the probability of its relationship with any of the members of this- group of mammals at all. There are two species of this animal â the Cape Aard-VARK of South and South-east Africa, and the ETHIOPIAN Aard-VARK of North-east Africa. â Where the nest-building ants are most common, there will the aard-vark â or Innagus, as the Boers sometimes call it â be most plentiful. The nests of these ants are huge structures of from 3 to 7 feet high, and often occupy vast areas of ground, extending as far as the eye can reach. They are substantially built, and swarm with occupants
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