Aardwolf

Proteles cristata

The aardwolf is a small, shy mammal that looks like a mix of a hyena and a fox. It's mostly nocturnal, meaning it's active at night, and loves to eat termites.

Lebensraum: Grasslands

Aussehen

The Aardwolf has a distinctive shaggy mane running along its back, which it can raise to appear larger. Its yellowish-brown coat is marked with several vertical black stripes, making it look like a slender, striped hyena. They also possess large, pointed ears and a long, bushy tail.

ReichAnimaliaStammChordataKlasseMammaliaOrdnungCarnivoraFamilieHyaenidaeGattungProteles

Aardwolf

Kategorie

Säugetiere

Seltenheit

Rare

Gefahr

2/5 · Gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Aardwolves eat almost only termites, sometimes over 200,000 in one single night!

Despite their hyena-like appearance, Aardwolves are shy, gentle, and solitary creatures.

The name Aardwolf means 'earth wolf' in Afrikaans, referring to their burrowing habits.

They never destroy termite mounds, carefully licking them clean instead of digging them up.

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Aardwolf has a tall mane on its back that helps them look bigger and scarier to predators when threatened.

Aardwolf can mark its territory with a strong-smelling liquid from a gland, letting other animals know it's their space.

Aardwolf has excellent night vision because of specialized eyes that help them forage for termites in the dark.

Maße und Details

Länge: 80-100 cm
Gewicht: 7-10 kg
Lebenserwartung: 8-15 Jahre
Top Speed: 40 km/h
Wurfgröße: 2-5
Tragzeit: 90-110 Tage

Ernährung und Fütterung

Aardwolves are insectivores, mostly eating termites with their long, sticky tongues!

Hauptnahrung

Harvester Termites
Snouted Termites
Other insects
Insect larvae

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

eats

Harvester Termite

Hodotermes mossambicus

Primary food source, licked from the surface.

eats

Snouted Harvester Termite

Trinervitermes trinervoides

Another key termite species in their diet.

eaten by

Lion

Panthera leo

Lions are apex predators in the Aardwolf's habitat.

eaten by

Spotted Hyena

Crocuta crocuta

Hyenas opportunistically prey on smaller carnivores.

Merkmale

Pelzig

Pelzig beschreibt Tiere, die eine dichte Schicht aus weichen Haaren oder Fell besitzen.

Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger leben den größten Teil ihres Lebens allein und interagieren mit Artgenossen nur zur Paarung oder zur Aufzucht der Jungen.

Graben

Grabende Tiere heben Tunnel und Kammern im Erdboden aus und nutzen diese unterirdischen Strukturen als Unterschlupf, zur Jagd oder zur Fortpflanzung.

Grasland

Grasland-Lebensräume sind terrestrische Biome, die von Gräsern und krautigen Pflanzen dominiert werden und einer Vielzahl von Weidetieren als Lebensraum dienen.