Pathfinders Animal Totem Oracle Card 8: Anteater

This card has led me on a personal journey of discovery and learning.
A Thank you to the artist is in order!

The card shows 4 Animals:
In the foreground we see an Ardvark stretching it’s nose into the air to smell the breeze.
Then an Echidna is sitting on a fallen tree trunk.
Behind it stands a majestic Giant Anteater
A Numbat is coming down another tree further in the back.

Numbat:
I am in LOOOOOVE with the Numbat! I never even knew of its existence!
At first I had thought I am looking at a Coati! But Coati - due the the relative size the artist drew the Animal.
But Coatis ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coati ) have stripes only on their tail and not across all their back...
So the search begun. In the net you can not put in “striped something” so I hit the books!
And Bingo!
In ‘Australia’s Endangered Species’ I discovered pics of a most beautiful little creature!
And the book and subsequent further search taught me the basics about the endangered Numbat, and conservation programs to preserve the species.


pictures of Numbats as well as all kinds of information: http://www.arkive.org/numbat/myrmecobius-fasciatus/

Therfore to me the Numbat will be a sweet symbol of a hidden treasure, that our modern civilization pushed aside and almost lost.
Be aware that everywhere there could be such a precious treasure hidden.

More about Anteater, Aardvark and Echidna are coming a litle later...
... I am still in Numbat -afterglow!

Aardvark:
Now; we all know the Aardvark ALWAYS comes first!!
In every dictionary of the English language that is!
The Aardvark is somewhat of a living fossil, with only Shrews as living relatives....
It is a rather feisty fighter and its thick skin protect it from the bites of Anta and Termites, its favorite food.
It lives in self dug burrows in sub-Saharan Africa and comes out after sunset.


http://www.arkive.org/aardvark/orycteropus-afer/image-G34777.html?offset=-1623px

from Wikipedia:
Mythology and popular culture
In African folklore the aardvark is much admired because of its diligent quest for food and its fearless response to the strong, warlike soldier ant. Hausa magicians make a charm from the heart, skin, forehead, and nails of the aardvark, which they then proceed to pound together with the root of a certain tree. Wrapped in a piece of skin and worn on the chest the charm is said to give the owner the ability to pass through walls or roofs at night. The charm is said to be used by burglars and those seeking to visit young girls without their parents' permission.

In English-speaking countries, the aardvark enjoys unusual notoriety, since it is the first noun, and often the first illustrated entry, in many English dictionaries.


What the Aardvark is telling me:
Aardvark:
I may not win the local beauty contest, but:
With a nose like this NOTHING escapes me!
With claws like this I can dig up anything!


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Echidna:
Now this Is an Animal I only know from the Oracle of the Dreamtime!
There are 2 kinds of Echidnas: short beaked and loooooooong beaked...
We are dealing with the Short beaked Echidna.
There this animal personifies the Spirit of being kind to one another and sharing resources.
People with Echidna as a Guardian are said to be strong forthright and unafraid to ask for what they want.
But they also have to learn how to accept rejection without being vindictive. All this is based on Aboriginal dreamings = legends, that feature Echidnas.

I am impressed to meet a mammal, that lays eggs.
That to me yet again is quite unique.
I also wonder, how prickly these spines of the echidna are.....?? Will they not prick an egg open???
How careful does the Animal have to be around its eggs and young offspring, when they are still naked?
Is this Animal a metaphor for a prickly shell and a sweet and gentle Soul?

Here are neat pics and more info:

http://www.arkive.org/short-beaked-echidna/tachyglossus-aculeatus/
http://www.arkive.org/long-beaked-echidna/zaglossus-spp/image-G1000.html?offset=-18px
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Giant Anteater:
This is the largest Animal depicted on the card.
It has a very thin long snout and an even longer sticky tongue to “hoover up’ termites into who's mounds it breaks in with its long claws.
This Animal’s claws are so tremendous, that so as not to hurt itself with them, it walks on its knuckles instead on the soles of its feet. The critter leads a solitary life
Mothers carry their single young on their back. There are nice pics of that and lots of more info on this website:

http://www.arkive.org/giant-anteater/myrmecophaga-tridactyla/image-G1048.html?offset=0px

How I see the Animal - from what I learned:
The Anteater is a specialist that takes a different approach to life; walks a different path.
But having such a specialized diet can also get you into trouble, should your environment change and this food become scarce.