Aardvark

Aardvarks mainly eat ants and termites. They use their sharp claws to dig into insect mounds and their long, sticky tongues to pull food into their mouths. In just one sitting, they can eat up to 50,000 insects! Aardvarks can also press their flat noses against insect mounds to suck out termites. Additionally, they dig up wild cucumber plants for water.

At the Zoo, aardvarks are offered a specially formulated dried insectivore diet and a smoothie consisting of assorted insects, avocado, and pureed fruits and vegetables.

Aardvarks live in sub-Saharan Africa. However, we do not know much about how they are distributed in the western and central rainforest areas.

Aardvarks are found in different habitats, including grassy plains, savannas, and woodlands. They favor areas with a a large amount of termites or ants year-round and are rarely found in areas with hard, compact soil or areas that flood regularly.

Lions, hyenas, and leopards are known to hunt aardvarks. When meeting a predator, an aardvark will try to dig a hole to hide. If it cannot hide underground, it might stand up or roll onto its back and use its sharp front claws to protect itself.

Aardvarks have a very specific diet, which makes them vulnerable to changes in their habitat. When land is used for farming, pesticides are often used, and this can harm the insects that aardvarks eat. Sometimes, farmers and ranchers see aardvarks as pests because their burrows can be a danger to animals or equipment, so they try to get rid of them. Additionally, the bushmeat trade and the use of aardvark parts in traditional medicine pose serious threats to their populations in some regions.

Aardvarks are about the size of small pigs and have thick skin that is mostly pale but can be stained by soil because they dig a lot. Their hair is short on their heads, necks, and tails, while the rest of their body has longer, darker hair. Young aardvarks have more hair than adults do. Their skin can range from a light yellowish-gray to pink.

Aardvarks are known for their long noses and small mouths. Inside their mouths, they have a sticky tongue that is about 12 inches long. They do not have any incisors or canines, just 10 cheek teeth to help them swallow insects. They use their long tongues to scoop bugs into their mouths and usually swallow them without chewing much.

These animals are great diggers, thanks to their powerful limbs and claws that look like spades. They can dig a burrow, which is usually around 6 to 10 feet long, in less than 20 minutes. Aardvarks also have stocky bodies, short necks, and long tails that get thinner toward the end.

Their snouts are pig-like and covered with hairs to keep dirt out while they dig and look for food. Aardvarks have a strong sense of smell, allowing them to find insects buried underground, but their eyesight is not very good—they can only see in the dark and are colorblind. However, they have excellent hearing and can move their long ears independently and fold them back while they’re tunneling.

In some places, aardvarks breed in the spring and have babies in the fall, while in other regions, this timing is reversed. Generally, aardvarks that live closer to the equator tend to breed earlier in the year. Female aardvarks usually stay within a specific area, while males travel between different areas to find mates.

Typically, aardvarks give birth to one baby after about seven months of pregnancy. The baby is born hairless, weighs around four pounds, and has its eyes open. When the baby is about two weeks old, it starts following its mother as they look for food, but it does not start eating solid food until it is three months old. Like all mammals, the baby relies on its mother's milk during this time.

As they approach six months old, young aardvarks start to dig their own burrows near their mothers and become technically independent, although they still hunt with her. When the next breeding season arrives, young male aardvarks will move away to find new territories, but females tend to stay close to their mothers until new babies are born. Aardvarks reach maturity when they are about two years old.

Aardvarks are usually quiet animals, but they can make grunting noises and will bleat if they feel threatened. Both male and female aardvarks have special glands on their elbows and hips. These glands may help them during mating or to communicate about their territory.

Aardvarks are nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night, and spend most of their time underground, which makes them a rare sight for humans. They emerge from their burrows shortly after sundown and will travel over long distances in search of food, up to three miles in some cases. With a home range of one to three square miles, they spend most of their time in a core area about a third of the total range. Aardvarks can share their home ranges with others, but they do not live in large groups and prefer to be alone.