The aardvark, also called 'Digging Foot' or 'Antbear', is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa.
Early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a pig.
The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for 'Earth Pig', although actually has no relation to the pig except for sharing some characteristics and a similar resemblance.
Characteristics
Its most distinctive characteristic is its teeth. Rather than having a pulp cavity in their tooth, they have a number of thin tubes of dentine, a calcified tissue of the body, which contain pulp held together by Cementum (a specialized, calcified substance covering the root of the tooth). They have no enamel coating and are worn away, regrowing continuously. They are born with conventional incisors and canines at the front of the jaw. These fall out and aren't replaced. Adult aardvarks only have cheek teeth at the back of the jaw.
They are vaguely pig-like with a stout body and arched back, sparsely covered with coarse hairs. They have no thumb on their front feet resulting in four toes, however they have all five on their rear feet.
In order to effectively dig they have shovel-shaped claws. They have a long and sticky tongue to help catch insects.
Adult aardvarks are 67 to 79 inches long and typically weigh from 88 to 143 pounds. They are a pale yellowish grey, although often stained reddish-brown by the soil. They have a thin coat with their tough skin being their primary protection.
They have also been known to sleep in recently excavated ant nests for extra protection.
Behaviour
They are nocturnal mammals and predominantly solitary, feeding mostly on ants and termites. The only fruit the eat is rather aptly named too, the aardvark cucumber.
They tend to emerge from their burrow in the late afternoon or shortly after sunset, foraging over a considerable range covering 10 to 30km. They swing their long nose from side to side to pick up the scent of food. When they locate ants or termites, they dig into the nest with their powerful front legs, ensuring they keep their ears in an upright position to listen for predators.
They use their long, sticky tongue to pick up as many as 50,000 insects in one night.
Generally speaking they are slow movers, but they dig exceptionally fast. Their claws enable them to dig through the extremely hard crust of an ant/termite mound quickly.
In order to avoid the dust they seal their nostrils and their long tongue licks up the insects.
Their tough skin is used as a shield against the termites stinging attacks.
Apart from digging out ants and termites they also excavate burrows to live in. The main burrow is used for breeding and then have temporary sites scattered around it which are used for refuge.
The main burrows are deep and extensive and often have several entrances. They change the layout regularly, sometimes moving on and making a new one. When they do this, smaller animals often inhabit the old burrows.
Only the mother and her cub will actually share the burrow.
Habitat
They live in Sub Saharan Africa, in savannas, grasslands, woodlands and bush land where they know there will be readily available ants and termites for them to eat. Sometimes, they may also be found in rain forests but they never live in desert regions. But they base where they live purely on the availability of food.
They require sandy soil rather than rocks to make digging for food easier.
They live in underground burrows. Located at the end of the tunnel you will find a round 'room', this is where they will curl up to sleep and the females will also give birth in here.
Burrows generally have one entrance, but some will have many along with several tunnels leading off from the main tunnel.
Diet
They can consume around 50,000 insects in one night.
They began eating ants and termites around 35million years ago, and this is still their preferred meal. An ant/termite hill isn't enough to satisfy them so instead they will search for entire colonies.
They also will eat locusts and a type of grasshopper.
Reproduction
They have a varied mating season. In some areas they mate between April and May with offspring born in October or November. In other regions offspring can be born in May or June.
The females carry their offspring for 7 months and give birth to 1 cub each pregnancy.
Newborns are born hairless and have pink, tender skin, remaining in the burrow for 2 weeks with their mother. After this they follow their mothers nightly in search of food.
They don't eat solid food for around 3 months, drinking their mums milk during this time.
At 14 weeks they start eating termites, and are usually weaned around 16 weeks. By 6 months they can dig their own burrow but prefer to stay with their mum until the next mating season.
They reach sexual maturity the following season.
Males will leave their mum completely during the next mating season while the females stay until the birth of the next cub.
Males will roam while the female will remain near the home.
They are also believed to be polygamous, having more than one mating partner.
They live to be around 10-23 years old, longer if in captivity.
Predators
Their main predators are lions, leopards, hunting dogs and pythons. They have the ability to dig fast or run in a zigzag fashion to elude their enemies. If this fails they will strike with their claws, tail, shoulders and sometimes flip onto their backs to lash out with all fours. Their thick skin also helps.
Spiritual Meaning
When an aardvark is your spirit guide, you have to trust your instinctual sense to smell out what is right and wrong for you. Be cautious when starting a new relationship or project until your instinct tells you it is safe.
When they appear to you as a spirit animal, you need to spend quiet time in solitude, avoiding social activities.
Look below the surface and find what is underneath.
Evening is your most productive time.
I hope this is interesting for you. My intention is to do as many animals as possible, and offer colouring pages for sale as well, with a percentage of each sale going to an animal charity.
