outh America. These, however, are so
different in habits and appearance, that they might properly be classed
as a separate genus of animals. They are _tree-climbers_, which the
tamanoir is not, spite of his great claws. They pursue the ants that
build their nests upon the high branches, as well as the wasps and bees;
and to befit them for this life, they are furnished with _naked
prehensile tails_, like the opossums and monkeys. These are
characteristics entirely distinct from those of the _Myrmecophaga
jubata_, or _great_ ant-eater.

One of these species is the _tamandua_, called by the Spano-Americans
_Osso hormiguero_ (ant-bear). The tamandua is much less than the
tamanoir, being only three and a half feet in length, while the latter
is over seven. The former is of a stouter build, with neither so long a
snout in proportion, nor such claws. The claws, moreover, are made for
tree-climbing, and are not so much in the way when the animal walks on
the ground. It is, therefore, a more active creature, and stands better
upon its limbs. Its fur is short and silky, but the tail is nearly
naked, and, as already stated, highly prehensile, although it does not
sleep hanging by the tail as some other animals do.

The tamandua is usually of a dull straw-colour, although it varies in
this respect, so that several species have been supposed to exist. It
spends most of its time upon the trees; and in addition to its ant-diet,
it feeds upon wild honey, and bees too, whenever it can catch them. The
female, like the tamanoir, produces only one young at a birth, and like
the other species, carries it upon her back until it is able to provide
for itself. The tamandua has sometimes been called _tridactyla_, or the
"three-toed ant-eater," because it has only three claws upon each of
its fore-feet, whereas the tamanoir is provided with four.

Another species of "ant-bear," differing from both in size and in many
of its habits, is the "little ant-eater." This one has only two claws on
each fore-foot, hence its specific name. It is a very small
creature--not larger than the common grey squirrel--with a prehensile
tail like the tamandua. The tail, however, is not entirely naked--only
on the under side near the point. It is not so good a walker as the
three-toed kind, though more active on its feet than the tamanoir.
Standing upon its hind-feet, and supporting itself also by the
tail--which it has already thrown around some branch--the little