A
flesh-eating animal hunts for a meal. But its taste is not
for meat. Its choice is ants or termites. It is not an aardvark!
This insect-loving animal is called an aardwolf.
Look-alikes
The
aardwolf is neither a wolf nor an aardvark. It is related
to the hyena. In fact, the aardwolf looks the striped hyena,
with the exception of its toes. The aardwolf has five clawed
toes on the front feet. The hyena has four toes. An aardwolf’s
fur is yellow-grey and its bushy tail is tipped in black.
Like the striped hyena, it has black stripes on its body
and legs and a stiff crest of hair that runs along its back.
Daytime
Hideaway
Aardwolves
can be found over much of eastern and southern part of Africa.
They are nocturnal animals, which mean they are most active
at night. During the day, aardwolves snooze in old aardvark
and rodent burrows or in dens that they have dug.
Got
termites?
The
aardwolf feeds almost entirely on insects and termites.
It is one of the 22 mammals that are true ant and termite
eaters. This group of animals includes aardvarks. However,
aardvarks have a different dining style—they tear
apart a termite mound and probe the tunnels with their tongues.
Aardwolves will not destroy a termite mound. They will wait
for the appearance of termites and then lick them up with
their long, sticky tongues.
When
termites are not available, the aardwolf eats mice, moles,
small birds, eggs, and carrion (dead animals). But it prefers
insects and will chow down an average of 200,000 to 300,000
termites each night. Now that’s what you might call
an amazing insect exterminator!
Interesting
Facts
