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Appearance
Appearance
Aardwolves look rather like hyenas. They can reach up to three feet in length and weigh about thirty pounds.
Aardwolves have large, wide ears that stand up from their heads and long, bushy tails. These curious creatures have two layers of fur which are very thick. Their tail, body, and legs are tan in color with black stripes.
Aardwolves have a short, black mane. They use their manes to appear bigger and more frightening.
The aardwolves' front legs are longer than their back legs, making their back slope downwards. Their front feet have five toes.
Aardwolves have pointy snouts, dark noses, and small, beady eyes.
Habitat
Habitat
Aardwolves are found in the southern and eastern parts of Africa.
They prefer to live in buslands, grasslands, and savannas. Aardwolves avoid forested areas.
Aardwolves inhabit territories of one to four miles. They mark the borders of their territory with urine and dung. Aardwolves defend their territories passionately.
Aardwolves live in burrows. Though they are capable of digging their own burrows, aardwolves usually occupy the abandoned burrows of aardvarks or porcupines.
Meadow
Meadow
Grasslands
Grasslands
Lifestyle
Lifestyle
Aardwolves live in mating pairs, and these pair occupy one territory. Only the aardwolves' mates are allowed on the territory.
Aardwolves are nocturnal, which means they are active during the night, and only venture outside during the day when it is necessary.
Aardwolves rarely leave their territories.
Reproduction
Reproduction
Aardwolves are monogamous, which means they mate for life. Once two aardwolves have mated, they never mate again, even if their mate dies.
The aardwolf mating season is from June to July.
The time from conception to birth is ninety days.
One litter can be from two to four babies. Both the mother and father aardwolf watch over and protect the den.
Aardwolf babies are called cubs, pups, or whelps. These cubs stay in their mother's den for the first few months of their life. For three to four months, they drink their mother's milk, then they join their parents in finding food.
At the age of one year, the cubs become adults and leave their parents to start a burrow of their own.
Diet
Diet
Aardwolves' diet mainly consists of termites. Aardwolves use their long, sticky tongues to suck up termites extraordinarily fast.
Aardwolves occasionally eat other bugs such as maggots. When termites and other insects are not available, aardwolves eat small birds and dead, rotting meat.
Predators
Predators
Aardwolves' natural predators include lions, leopards, cheetahs, poisonous snakes, jackals, and larger hyenas or aardwolves.
Humans are also a threat to aardwolves. Some farmers mistakenly think that aardwolves kill their animals, and kill aardwolves that come near their property.
When threatened, aardwolves growl and make clucking sounds. They raise their manes in an attempt to seem larger and more terrifying.
Aardwolves are not fast runner or skilled fighters. When they are confronted by a predator, they run away as fast as they can, then secretly follow their trail back to where they started from to confuse their enemy.
Aardwolves are not endangered. Their conservation status is Least Concern.
Life Span
Life Span
Aardwolves live for about eight years in the wild, and fifteen years in captivity.
Other Facts
Other Facts
The aardwolf's closest relatives is the hyena.
One aardwolf can eat up to three hundred thousand termites in one night!
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