🐽 AARDVARK: THE MIDNIGHT ENGINEER
PAGE 1 OF 5 — THE EARTH PIG
ORYCTEROPUS AFER
AFRICA'S NIGHT DIGGER
Meet the aardvark, a strange and wonderful mammal whose name means "earth pig" in Afrikaans. Its scientific name is Orycteropus afer, and it lives across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Aardvarks are mostly active at night, when the savanna cools down and insect nests are easier to find. They have a long pig-like snout, rabbit-like ears, and a thick tail. Though they look mixed-up, every body part has a job. Aardvarks eat almost nothing but ants and termites, making them specialist insect hunters of the dark African plains.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
The aardvark is the only living member of its order, Tubulidentata. It is not closely related to pigs, anteaters, or armadillos despite its looks.
DIG!
TONGUE
👅 An aardvark tongue can be longer than 30 cm and is sticky enough to slurp up thousands of insects.
🐜 It can close its nostrils while digging so dust does not get inside its nose.
🐜 It can close its nostrils while digging so dust does not get inside its nose.
SNIFF
👃 Aardvarks rely on smell to find hidden ant and termite nests in the dark.
🌙 They may travel 10 to 30 km in one night while searching for food.
🌙 They may travel 10 to 30 km in one night while searching for food.