Aardvark

Aardvark Physical Characteristics
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Tubulidentata
Family: Orycteropodidae
Genus: Orycteropus
Scientific Name: Orycteropus afer
Common Name: Aardvark
Other Name(s): Antbear, Earth Pig
Group: Mammal
Number Of Species: 18
Location: Sub-Saharan Africa
Habitat: Sandy and clay soil
Colour: Brown, grey, yellow
Skin Type: Hair
Size (L): 1.05m - 2.20m (3.4ft - 7.3ft)
Weight: 60kg - 80kg (130lbs - 180lbs)
Top Speed: 40kph (25mph)
Diet: Omnivore
Prey: Termites, Ants
Predators: Lions, Leopards, Hyenas
Lifestyle: Nocturnal
Group Behaviour: Solitary
Lifespan: 23 years
Age Of Sexual Maturity: 2 years
Gestation Period: 7 months
Average Litter Size: 1
Name Of Young: Cub
Age Of Weaning: 3 months
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Estimated Population Size: Unknown
Biggest Threat: Habitat loss
Most Distinctive Feature: Long, sticky tongue and rabbit-like ears
Fun Fact: Can move up to 2ft of soil in just 15 seconds
aardvark

Aardvark Classification and Evolution 
Aardvarks are little pig-like vertebrates that are found occupying a wide scope of various environments all through Africa, south of the Sahara. They are for the most part single and go through their days staying in bed underground tunnels to shield them from the warmth of the African sun, developing in the cooler night to look for nourishment. Their name begins from the Afrikaans language in South Africa and means Earth Pig, because of their long nose and pig-like body. Aardvarks are exceptional among creatures as they are the main enduring species in their creature family. As of not long ago it was broadly accepted that they were most firmly identified with different insectivores, for example, armadillos and pangolins however this isn't the situation with their nearest living relatives really thought to be elephants.

Aardvark Anatomy and Appearance 
Aardvarks have an interesting appearance among warm blooded animals (and without a doubt all creatures) as they show physical qualities of various diverse creature species. They have medium-sized, practically bare bodies and long noses that make them look particularly pig-like from the start, with tough skin that both shields them from the hot sun and furthermore from being hurt by creepy crawly nibbles. They can close their noses to prevent residue and creepy crawlies from entering their nose. They have rounded, hare like ears that can remain on end yet can likewise be collapsed level to keep earth from entering them when they are underground. Aardvarks have solid, hooks on every one of their spade-like feet that alongside the way that their rear legs are longer than their front legs, makes them solid and skilled diggers ready to unearth immense measures of earth at a disturbing rate. Because of the way that they burn through the vast majority of their lives underground or out chasing in obscurity around evening time, they have poor visual perception however can without much of a stretch explore their encompassing utilizing their brilliant feeling of smell to both discover prey and to detect potential risk.

Aardvark Distribution and Habitat 
Aardvarks are found in a wide range of environments all through sub-Saharan Africa from dry 
deserts to the wet rainforest districts. The main stipulation (other than having great access to a lot 
of sustenance and water) is to have great soil in which they can burrow their broad tunnels. Notwithstanding being exceptionally gifted at diving in sandy or earth soil types, rockier areas demonstrate all the more a test to make their underground homes so the aardvark will move to another region where soil conditions are more qualified to burrowing. Their tunnels can be up to 10 meters (33 ft) long in a home range that can be somewhere in the range of 2 to 5 kilometers square. Their tunnels frequently having various passages and are in every case left head first so they can distinguish potential predators effectively utilizing their sharp feeling of smell.

Aardvark Behavior and Lifestyle 
Aardvarks are for the most part singular creatures that meet up just to mate and are never found in enormous gatherings. They live in underground tunnels to shield them both from the hot daytime sun and from predators. Aardvarks are nighttime well evolved creatures, just leaving the wellbeing of the tunnel under the front of night when they go looking for sustenance and water, frequently voyaging a few miles so as to locate the greatest termite hills guided by their incredible hearing and feeling of smell. Notwithstanding regularly having a huge tunnel contained a broad system of passages, aardvarks are additionally known to have the option to rapidly unearth little transitory tunnels where they can ensure themselves rapidly instead of coming back to their unique dwelling.

Aardvark Reproduction and Life Cycles 
Aardvarks have explicit mating seasons that happen each year. Contingent upon the district in which the aardvark lives youthful can be conceived either in October to November, or May to June in different zones. Known to have babies most years, female aardvarks bring forth a solitary posterity after a development period that typically goes on for around 7 months. Infant aardvarks frequently weigh as meager as 2kg and are brought into the world with smooth, pink skin in the wellbeing of their mom's tunnel. Child aardvarks go through the initial two weeks of their lives in the wellbeing of the underground tunnel before starting to wander out with their mom under the front of night. Notwithstanding, regardless of going with their mom looking for nourishment they aren't weaned until they are around a quarter of a year old. Youthful aardvarks live with their mom in her tunnel until they are around a half year old when they move out to burrow their very own tunnel. In spite of the fact that their life expectancy in the wild isn't totally clear, aardvarks will in general live for over 20 years in imprisonment.

Aardvark Diet and Prey 
The eating regimen of aardvarks is basically contained ants and termites, with termites being their favored nourishment source. In spite of this however, they are known to likewise eat different creepy crawlies, for example, bugs and bug hatchlings. Aardvarks are worked to be insectivores, with solid appendages and paws that are equipped for breaking into the harder external shell of termite hills all around proficiently. When they have broken into the hill they at that point utilize their long, sticky tongue to collect the creepy crawlies inside and eat them entire without biting as they are then ground down in their strong stomachs. One of the aardvarks most unmistakable highlights is the way that they have columnar cheek-teeth that fill no useful need by any stretch of the imagination. With some bigger insect species that should be bitten they utilize the incisors that are situated towards the back of their mouths. Aardvarks are likewise ready to utilize similar systems to break into underground subterranean insect homes.

Aardvark Predators and Threats
Regardless of the way that aardvarks are nighttime creatures that live in the wellbeing of underground tunnels, they are compromised by various predators all through their regular habitat. Lions, panthers, hyenas and enormous snakes (most prominently pythons) are the fundamental predators of aardvarks however this varies relying upon where the aardvark lives. Their fundamental type of guard is to escape all around rapidly underground in any case, they are additionally known to be very forceful when compromised by these bigger creatures. Aardvarks utilize their solid, sharp paws to attempt to harm their aggressor alongside kicking the compromising creature with their amazing back legs. Aardvarks are additionally undermined by people who chase them and annihilate their regular natural surroundings.

Aardvark Interesting Facts and Features 
Aardvarks utilize their long, sticky tongue to slurp up to 50,000 creepy crawlies a night from insidetermite hills or underground subterranean insect homes. Their worm-like tongues can really grow up to 30 cm long importance they can venture more termites further into the hill. Their affection for creepy crawlies has really driven aardvarks likewise being known as Antbears! Curiously enough, aardvarks are likewise thought to get practically the majority of the dampness they need from their prey implying that they really need to physically drink almost no water. Aardvarks are believed to be one of the world's most productive diggers with their solid appendages and paws and scoop like feet helping them to have the option to move 2ft of soil in only 15 seconds!

Aardvark Relationship with Humans 
Because of the way that they spend the daytime hours covered up in the security of their underground tunnels, just developing under the front of night to chase for sustenance, aardvarks are only here and there observed by numerous individuals. In certain districts however, they are chased by individuals for sustenance and are ending up progressively influenced by extending human populaces as a greater amount of their normal natural surroundings vanish to clear a path for developing settlements.

Aardvark Conservation Status and Life Today 
Today, aardvarks are recorded by the IUCN as an animal varieties that is of Least Concern. In spite of the way that populace quantities of aardvarks unquestionably declined in certain nations, in others, their numbers stay stable and they are regularly usually found in both secured territories and locales with reasonable natural surroundings. They are anyway winding up progressively influenced by living space misfortune in both the type of deforestation and extending towns and towns. Because of their fantastically tricky nature, precise populace sizes are not completely comprehended.

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