Weight: to pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Least concern. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Unknown. This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our photo community on Instagram. Follow us on Instagram at natgeoyourshot or visit us at natgeo.
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Then the ends of each branch turn back towards the ground and actually push straight down into the soil. Once the vine is about 8 inches deep, the fruit begins to grow, completely underground. The aardvark cucumber is named so because it actually requires an aardvark to dig it up, eat its fruit, and replant it by excreting the seeds. Aardvarks use their remarkable claws to dig for aardvark cucumbers, rip open termite mounds and ant hills, and also to dig long burrows where they sleep during the heat of the day.
They are such excellent diggers they may actually dig a hole on the spot and dive in to hide from predators. Lions, hyenas, leopards and African wild dogs all prey on aardvarks, but not without a fight. Adult aardvarks are 2 feet tall and can weigh over pounds. They use their iron-hard claws for defense, sometimes rearing up on their hind legs, sometimes rolling over on their backs and striking out with all four feet.
They can also use their powerful tail as a weapon. The tail is very thick at the base and can batter an opponent, but is also whip-like towards the end, and can deliver a stinging lash. Aardvark Facts. The aardvark is insectivorous, feeding almost exclusively on insects, but supplementing with the unusual aardvark cucumber, a curious subterranean fruit.
Most aardvarks would prefer to eat only ants, but population limitations and changes in the seasons force them to consume enormous amounts of termites as well. Imagine the number of quarter inch long insects it takes to power a pound aardvark! Though they are not "anteaters", they hunt and forage exactly as the South American anteaters do.
They tear open ant hills capturing the scurrying masses with a 16 to 20 inch tongue that is covered with glue-like saliva. Aardvarks can break into termite mounds that are hard as concrete, and can decimate an entire colony, lapping up all in their wake. They will ingest insects through their nostrils as well, sometimes inhaling the last of them from nooks and crannies with a few mighty snorts of their substantial schnoz.
An individual aardvark may have a territory of many square miles and may not return to the same area for several weeks, giving the insect population a chance to rebound. The aardvark is mostly nocturnal, somewhat nomadic and quite shy leaving allot of their lifestyle a bit of a mystery.
Aardvark females appear to come into season once per year. They may spend several days with the male of their choice, sharing a burrow by day and foraging together by night. An aardvark has a long snout that ends with a pig-like nose, rabbit-like ears and a tail similar to a kangaroo's. Yet it is not closely related to any of those animals. Aardvarks are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Though they do eat ants — so they are technically "ant eaters" — aardvarks are a separate species from anteaters, which are found in South America. Aardvarks are about the size of a small pig. Typically, they weigh from to lbs. From head to rump, aardvarks are 43 to 53 inches to centimeters long, and their tail adds another 21 to 26 inches 53 to 66 cm to its length, according to National Geographic. If it stuck its tongue out, an aardvark would be much longer. Their tongues can be up to 12 inches Their ears are also very long and can grow up to 9.
Aardvarks live in many different types of habitats, such as grasslands, savannas, rainforests, woodlands and thickets throughout Africa in the areas south of the Sahara.
They live in burrows that range from 6. Aardvarks are solitary animals and only come together to mate. They are also nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day.
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