Robert Lyons, aged 10, of Cambridge, Mass

Does an anteater ever get bitten bit ants?

Any anteater runs the risk of being bitten by his dinner: For the little ants put up a good fight to defend their nests. Many ant s t nests have special warrior ants whose job is to fight off invasions. These soldiers have big heads and very tough Jaws especially for nipping. So, every anteater has to take his chances of being bitten.

We call almost any animal that feeds mostly on ants an anteater. These fellows live in scattered parts of the world wherever ants are big and plentiful. Not all anteaters are related to each other. Those of South America are covered with silky fur. An Australian anteater is covered with prickles, And several anteaters of Africa are covered with armor plating, Not all of them look alike. But all of them are very. strange looking‑animals.

The amazing pangolin is the scaley anteater of South Africa, He looks for all the world like a huge pine cone. There are several pangolin cousins. The largest may grow to be six feet long.. Except for his underneath, the pangolin is covered with scales of. overlapping armor.

One would guess that such a well protected animal had no worries about being bitten by ants. Certainly he should be safer than his anteating friends who wear only fur or prickles. But let's watch him attack his favorite food, It is nighttime and he uses his wonderful sense of smell to find a nest of big red ants. He tears it to pieces with his powerful. front claws, Then he shoots out his long tongue like a whip from his tiny mouth.. The tongue is moist and sticky. He lashes it around to gather up ants and especially ant eggs. Then he pulls the tongue back in and crushes his food on the roof of his mouth,

Meantime, what are the ants doing to defend themselves? Their carefully built home is in ruins.. Their‑precious eggs are being eaten by the dozen, All is confusion.. They rush hither and thither trying to save the young and repair the damage. Sooner or later, a few soldier ants spot the cause of the disaster, There they go, powerful Jaws ready to fight.

These warriors crawl all over Mr. Pangolin. They bite him where they can. Naturally they cannot bite through his armor plated back and tail. But a few reach his face, his nose and his unprotected underneath. They bite arid hang on, The pangolin feels their nippers. He pauses a moment to brush and scratch them off. Then odt goes his whip‑.like tongue again. He goes right on eating.

The fur coated anteaters have most trouble with ant bites. one of these is the huge bear anteater of South America. Like the pangolin, he scratches once in a while during dinner. He has a long nine inch tongue. And he uses it to gather up any fighting ant that stays with him after. he has finished eating,