There appears to be two species of tanrecs, or, perhaps, two different races; the first, which is nearly as large as our hedge-hog, has its muzzle proportionably longer than the second; its ears are also more apparent, and is more furnished with prickles than the second, to which we have given the name of tendrac to distinguish it from the first. The tendrac (_fig. 164._) is not bigger than a large rat; its muzzle and ears are shorter than those of the tanrec, which is also covered with shorter prickles, but they are as numerous as those of the hedge-hog; the tendrac, on the contrary, has them only on the head, neck, and withers, the rest of the body being covered with a coarse hair resembling the bristles of a hog. These small animals, whose legs are short, move but slowly; they grunt, and wallow in the mire like hogs; they are chiefly in creeks and harbours of salt water; they multiply in great numbers, and dig themselves holes in the ground, whither they retire and sleep for several months. During this torpid state their hair falls off, which grows again upon their revival. They are usually very fat, and although their flesh is insipid, soft, and spongy, yet the Indians consider it as a very great delicacy. _Engraved for Barr's Buffon_ [Illustration: FIG. 165. _Giraffe._] [Illustration: FIG. 166. _Two toed Sloth._ FIG. 167. _Tarsier._] THE GIRAFFE, OR CAMELOPARD. The Giraffe (_fig. 165._) is one of the tallest, most useful, most beautiful, and harmless animals in nature. The enormous disproportion of his legs, the fore ones being as long again as those behind, is a great obstacle to the exercise of his powers. His motion is waddling, slow, and stiff; he can neither fly from his enemies in a free state, nor serve his master in a domestic one. The species is not very numerous, and has always been confined to the desarts of Ethiopia, and to some other provinces of Southern Africa and India. As these countries were unknown to the Greeks, Aristotle makes no mention of this animal. Pliny speaks of it, and Oppian describes it in a manner that is far from equivocal. "The camelopardalis (says this author) has some resemblance to the camel; it has a spotted skin like the panther, and a neck as long as the camel; its head and ears are small, its feet broad, and its legs long, but the last are very unequal, the fore ones being much longer than those behind, which are so short, that when the animal is standing it has somewhat the appearance of a dog sitting upon his posteriors. There are two prominences upon the head just between the ears, which resemble two small and straight horns. Its mouth is like the stag's; its teeth small and white; its eyes full of fire; its tail short, and furnished with black hairs at the end." By adding to this description of Oppian those of Heliodorus and Strabo, we shall have a sufficient idea of the camelopard. "The ambassadors of Ethiopia (says Heliodorus) brought an animal about the size of a