Homes Without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction - Page 11

This curious abode is not sought by every Polar Bear. None of the males trouble themselves to spend so much time in a state of seclusion; and as the only use of the retreat is to shelter the young, the unmarried females roam freely about during the winter months. The habit of partial hibernation is common to most, if not to all true Bears, and we find that the White Bear of the Polar regions, the Brown Bear of Europe, and the Black Bear of Northern America, agree in this curious habit. Before retiring into winter quarters, the Bear eats enormously, and, driven by an unfailing instinct, resorts to the most nutritious diet, so that it becomes prodigiously fat. In this condition it is in the best state for killing, as the fur partakes of the general fullness of the body, and becomes thick and sleek, as is needful when we consider the task which it has to perform.

During the three months of her seclusion, the Polar Bear takes no food, but exists upon the store of fat which has been accumulated before retiring to her winter home. A similar phenomenon may be observed in many of the hibernating animals, but in the Bear it is more remarkable from the fact that she has not only to support her own existence, but to impart nourishment to her offspring. It is true, that in order to enable them to find sufficient food, they are of wonderfully small dimensions when compared with the parent; but the fact remains, that the animal is able to lay up within itself so large a store of nutriment that it can maintain its own life and suckle its young for a space of three months without taking a morsel of food.

It is worthy of notice, also, that in the Bears of the Old as well as the New World, is found the curious phenomenon of the "tappen," a hard concreted substance, which plugs up the intestine, and seems to be of service in retaining the animal in condition. In Scandinavia, where the Bears of both sexes retire to winter quarters, and remain in their hidden recesses for five full months, the tappen is very seldom cast until the animal leaves its den. In the rare instances where such an event has happened, the Bear is said to have become miserably thin and weak. Full particulars of the tappen and the hibernating habits of the Brown Bear may be found in Lloyd's "Field Sports of Northern Europe."

THERE are other animals which burrow under the snow, though they do so for the sake of finding food, and not of forming a habitation. Several of the Arvicolæ, or field-mice of North America, are in the habit of driving long tunnels under the snow in search of food, and are so successful in this curious mode of foraging that they in general become quite fat during the winter months, when every green leaf has fallen, and every herb is covered with a thick mantle of snow.

From a work of this character, so remarkable an animal as the PICHICIAGO ought not to be omitted. Its scientific name is Chlamyphorus truncatus, and is very happily chosen, as will presently be seen.

The Pichiciago is not larger than an ordinary mole, and in its general habits somewhat resembles that animal. The shape of its body sufficiently indicates its burrowing propensities, and the view of the skeleton confirms the aspect of its outward form. The bones of the fore legs are short, thick, and arched in that manner which is so indicative of great muscular power, and even those of the hind legs are remarkably strong in proportion to the size of the animal. The fore paws are enormously large, palm-shaped, and furnished with five strong, curved, and compressed claws, so as to form admirable digging instruments. The snout is rather long and pointed, and, as in the mole, the eyes are very small, and hidden under the soft dense fur.

It is a native of Chili, and seems to be of rare occurrence, though it may probably be more plentiful than is generally imagined, its subterranean habits and timid nature seldom permitting it to be seen. Like the mole, it lives beneath the earth, scooping out long galleries in the soil, and probably feeding upon insects like the rest of the edentate animals.

The chief point of interest which strikes an observer, when looking at a Pichiciago, is the cuirass with which its body is defended. It is made and arranged in a very peculiar manner. The cuirass looks as if a number of squared plates of horn had been sewn upon short lengths of tape, and then the tape bands laid side by side and fastened to each other. It is not fixed to the animal throughout its whole extent, as might be supposed, but is only attached along the spine, and on the top of the head. It does not merely protect the back, but, when it reaches the insertion of the tail, turns suddenly downward as if on hinges, and forms a kind of flap over the hind-quarters, which are short and square, as if abruptly cut off by a perpendicular blow with a sharp instrument. This arrangement affords a perfect protection to the hind-quarters while the animal is burrowing, and effectually repels any attack that might be made from the rear, reminding the observer of the shell with which the testacella is furnished.

This coat of mail is as flexible as the chain or scale armor of the olden times, and accommodates itself to every movement of the animal. The rest of the body is covered with a coat of soft, yellowish fur, nearly as fine as that of the mole, and much longer, but not so dense. The scientific name of the Pichiciago relates to the mail-clad body and the peculiar form of the hind-quarters, the generic title signifying "mantle-bearer," and the specific name, "abruptly shortened."

THE ARMADILLO can run with considerable speed, and some species are said to be able to outstrip a man. This may possibly be the case in the native country of the animal, but those specimens which have been brought to England in a living state would certainly be overtaken by a man of ordinary powers. They get over the ground at a sharp pace, using a queer little jog-trot kind of movement, and display an easy flexibility of body and agility of limbs, which never fail to astonish those who have only seen the stiffened specimens in a museum.

They are mostly nocturnal animals, concealing themselves in their burrows by day, and coming out at night to search for food. The burrows in which they live are generally about thirteen or fourteen feet in length, descending in an abruptly sloping direction for some three or four feet, and then taking a sudden bend, and inclining slightly upward. In these subterranean homes the mother Armadillo produces and nurtures her young, which are on an average about four or five in number.

All the Armadillos are natives of the tropical and temperate regions of South America.

THE GIANT ARMADILLO.

The various species of Armadillo, all mailed animals, are mighty burrowers, residing in holes which they have dug with their powerful fore limbs, and obtaining much of their food below the surface of the earth. They are carnivorous beings, and feed upon insects and all kinds of animal substances. One species, the GIANT ARMADILLO (Priodonta gigas), is so determined a burrower, that it has often been known to dig up dead bodies for the purpose of feeding on them. All these creatures, however, are fond of animal substances, and many of them may be found upon the savannas of South America, feasting greedily upon the bodies of the cattle which are slaughtered so recklessly for the sake of their hides. In all these animals the coat of mail is exceedingly hard, so hard, indeed, that it is used for sharpening the long Spanish knife, which is universally carried by the Gauchos.

Digging these animals out of their retreat is no easy business. According to Mr. Waterton, the method adopted is simple, though laborious. As the Armadillos burrow like rabbits in a warren, the first point is to ascertain whether the inhabitant is at home. This is done by pushing a stick into each hole, and watching for mosquitoes. If any of these troublesome flies emerge, the inhabitant is at home; if not, there is no use in searching farther. When the presence of an Armadillo is satisfactorily ascertained, a long rod is thrust into the burrow in order to learn its direction, and a hole is dug in the ground so as to meet the end of the stick. A fresh departure is taken from that point, the rod is again introduced, and by dint of laborious digging the animal is at last captured.

Meanwhile, the Armadillo is not idle, but continues to burrow in the sand, in hopes of escaping its persecutors. It can not, however, dig so fast as they can, and is at last obliged to yield. Mr. Waterton mentions that he has been obliged to work for three quarters of a day, and to sink half a dozen pits before a single specimen could be secured.

If an Armadillo should be surprised, and its retreat to the burrow intercepted, it at once sets to work at sinking a fresh tunnel. So fast, indeed, does it excavate, that if a horseman sees one of these animals he must almost tumble from his steed if he wishes to capture the active creature. And, when he has grasped it, he must be careful about his hands, or he will suffer severe wounds from the powerful claws of the Armadillo. As with the pichiciago, the coat of mail, which appears so hard and stiff in the stuffed specimen, is perfectly flexible during life, enabling the limbs of the animal to enjoy their full play, and even permitting the owner to roll itself into a ball when it is threatened with danger.

THE different species of Manis deserve a passing notice. They are all burrowers, and are furnished with armor even better calculated for defense than that of the armadillo, inasmuch as it assumes somewhat of an offensive as well as a defensive character. All these animals are covered with large, sharp-edged scales, of a stout horny consistence, which overlap each other like the tiles of a house. They are of wonderful hardness, and form a buckler which is impenetrable to any weapons possessed by the carnivorous animals of the regions wherein it resides. A specimen of the BAJJERKEIT, or SHORT-TAILED MANIS of India (Manis pentadactyla), now before me, affords a good example of this weapon-resisting power. Edwin Arnold, Esq., to whom I am indebted for this specimen, possessed it in a living state for a considerable time, and when he was about to leave India, determined to kill the animal and take the skin with him. Accordingly, he fired three barrels of a Colt's revolver pistol at the Manis, but without the slightest effect, and was at last obliged to introduce the point of a dagger under the scales, and drive the weapon into the heart. On examining the interior of the skin, the wound caused by the double-edged dagger is plainly perceptible, but I can not find the slightest trace of the bullets. One of the balls, indeed, recoiled upon the intending destroyer.

When the Manis is alarmed, it rolls itself up, wraps its tail over the body, and lies in conscious security, the horny scales acting as a buckler, and their sharp edges deterring enemies from the attack as much as the quills of the porcupine or the spines of the hedgehog.

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