Aardvark Fast Facts

Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) are known by several common names including antbears and anteaters; they are native to sub-Saharan Africa. The name aardvark is Afrikaans  (a daughter language of Dutch) for earth pig. Despite these common names, aardvarks are not closely related to bears, pigs, or anteaters. Instead, they occupy their own distinct order: Tubulidentata. Fast Facts: Aardvark Scientific Name: Orycteropus aferCommon Names: Aardvark, antbear, anteater, Cape anteaters, earth pigBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: Up to 6.5 feet long, 2 feet at shoulder heightWeight: 110–175 poundsLifespan: 10 yearsDiet:  CarnivoreHabitat: Sub-saharan AfricaPopulation: Not quantifiedConservation Status: Least Concern Description Aardvarks are medium-sized mammals (weighing 110–175 pounds and up to 6.5 feet long) with a bulky body, arched back, medium-length legs, long ears (resembling those of a donkey), a long snout, and a thick tail. They have a sparse coat of coarse grayish brown fur covering their body. Aardvarks have four toes on their front feet and five toes on their rear feet. Each toe has a flat, sturdy nail that they use for digging burrows and tearing into insect nests in search of food. Aardvarks have very thick skin which provides them protection from insect bites and even the bites of predators. Their teeth lack enamel and, as a result, wear down and must regrow continuously—the teeth are tubular and hexagonal in cross-section. Aardvarks have small eyes and their retina only contains rods (this means they are color-blind). Like many nocturnal animals, aardvarks have a keen sense of smell and very good hearing. Their front claws are especially robust, enabling them to dig burrows and break open termite nests with ease. Their long, serpentine tongue (10–12 inches) is sticky and can gather up ants and termites with great efficiency. The classification of the aardvark was controversial at one time. Aardvarks were formerly classified in the same group as  armadillos, sloths, and anteaters. Today, genetic studies have shown that the aardvark is classified in the order called the Tubulidentata (tube-toothed), and the family Orycteropodidae: They are the only animal in either order or family. Shongololo90/Getty Images   Habitat and Range Aardvarks inhabit a variety of habitats including savannas, shrublands, grasslands, and woodlands. Although they once lived in Europe and Asia, today their range extends throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa, every ecosystem except marshes, deserts, and very rock terrains. Bridgena_Barnard/Getty Images   Diet and Behavior Aardvarks forage at night, covering extensive distances (as much as 6 miles per night) in search of food. To find food, they swing their noses from side to side over the ground, trying to detect their prey by scent. They feed almost exclusively on termites and ants and can consume up to 50,000 insects in a single night. They occasionally supplement their diet by feeding on other insects, plant material or the occasional small mammal. Solitary, nocturnal mammals, aardvarks spend the daylight hours safely tucked away inside their borrows and emerge to feed during the late afternoon or early evening. Aardvarks are extraordinarily fast diggers and can excavate a hole 2 feet deep in less than 30 seconds. The main predators of aardvarks include lions, leopards, and pythons. Aardvarks dig three types of burrows in their ranges: relatively shallow foraging burrows, larger temporary shelters to hide from predators and more complex burrows for permanent residence. They share their permanent residences with other creatures but not other aardvarks. Investigation of the residential burrows has shown that compared to the surrounding soil, soil inside the burrow is cooler (between 4 and 18 degrees F cooler depending on the time of day), and moister. The differences remained the same no matter how old the burrow was, leading researchers to name the aardvark an ecological engineer. Reproduction and Offspring Aardvarks reproduce sexually and form pairs only for a short time during the breeding season. Females give birth to one or rarely two cubs after a gestation period of 7–8 months. In northern Africa, Aardvarks give birth from October to November; in the south, from May and July. The young are born with their eyes open. The mother nurses the young until they are 3 months old when they start eating insects. They become independent of their mothers at six months and venture off to find their own territory. Aardvarks become sexually mature at two to three years of age and have lifespans in the wild of about 18 years. Evolutionary History Aardvarks are considered to be living fossils due to their ancient, highly conserved genetic make-up. Scientists believe that todays aardvarks represent one of the most ancient lineages among the placental mammals (Eutheria). Aardvarks are considered to be a primitive form of hoofed mammal, not because of any obvious similarities but instead due to subtle characteristics of their brain, teeth, and musculature. The closest living relatives to the aardvarks include  elephants, hyraxes,  dugongs, manatees, elephant shrews, golden moles, and tenrecs. Together, these mammals form a group known as the Afrotheria. Conservation Status Aardvarks once existed in Europe and Asia but are now only found in sub-Saharan Africa. Their populations are unknown but they are classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and not listed as threatened at all by the ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System. Major identified threats to the aardvark are habitat loss through agriculture, and human and trapping for bush meat. The skin, claws, and teeth are used to make bracelets, charms and curious and some medicinal purposes.  Ã‚   Sources Buss, Peter E., and Leith C. R. Meyer. Chapter 52: Tubulidentata (Aardvark). Fowlers Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Volume 8. Eds. Miller, R. Eric and Murray E. Fowler. St. Louis: W.B. Saunders, 2015. 514–16. Print.Gozdziewska-Harlajczuk, Karolina, Joanna Kleckowska-Nawrot, and Karolina Barszcz. Macroscopic and Microscopic Study of the Tongue of the Aardvark (Orycteropus Afer, Orycteropodidae). Tissue and Cell 54 (2018): 127–38. Print.Haussmann, Natalie S., et al. Ecosystem Engineering through Aardvark (Orycteropus Afer) Burrowing: Mechanisms and Effects. Ecological Engineering 118 (2018): 66–72. Print.Ratzloff, Elizabeth. Orycteropus afer (aardvark). Animal Diversity Web, 2011.  Taylor, W. A., P. A. Lindsey, and J. D. Skinner. The Feeding Ecology of the Aardvark Orycteropus Afer. Journal of Arid Environments 50.1 (2002): 135–52. Print.Taylor, A. and T. Lehmann. Orycteropus afer. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T41504A21286437, 2015.