Aardvark

Orycteropus afer

Where is it found?
Woodland, savannah, scrubland and grassland.

Diet and foraging method

They use their powerful front claws to dig open ant and termite nests and their long sticky tongues to collect the insects.

Key adaptations

Aardvarks have very thick skin for protection against insect bites as well as bites from predators. They are well adapted for digging, and can make burrows at an extremely fast rate. These burrows are used to hide from predators. Their long tubular ears and snout give them acute sense of hearing and a good sense of smell for finding prey.

Social organisation and mating system

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Solitary
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Polygynous

Did you know that...?

Aardvarks can eat 50,000 termites in one sitting.

Taxonomy

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Picture credits:

Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Porcs formiguers (Orycteropus afer)" by MontageMan - [1]. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Porcs_formiguers_(Orycteropus_afer).jpg#/media/File:Porcs_formiguers_(Orycteropus_afer).jpg
"Erdferkel-drawing". Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erdferkel-drawing.jpg#/media/File:Erdferkel-drawing.jpg