The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a nocturnal, solitary animal, and is the only surviving member of the order Tubulidentata. It is placed alone in this order, because of its special teeth, which, instead of having a pulp cavity, have lots of thin tubes of dentine, each containing pulp and held together by cementum. Adults have only molars at the back of the jaw as teeth, the other teeth fall out. Its diet consists almost exclusively on ants and termites and the only fruit it eats: cucumber. The aardvark uses its front legs to dig out termites and ants and it uses them to create burrows. The aardvark weighs between 40 and 60 kilograms and is named after the Dutch words for "earth" and "pig". It lives in the sub-Saharan desert and is not threatened. Did you know "Aardvark" is the first word in your English dictionary ? Picture of the Aardvark licensed under GFDL
Keywords: nocturnal
Which zoos have them?
Brookfield Zoo (United States)The Aardvark, antbear is listed as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category, on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Namings for the aardvark
A young / baby of a aardvark is called a 'pup'.Countries
Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, The, Ghana, GuineaBissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and ZimbabweAardvark habitats
Dry savanna, Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation, Moist savanna, Savanna, Shrubland and Subtropical / Tropical Dry ShrublandSome facts about the
Aardvark
Adult weight : 60 kg (132 lbs)
Maximum longevity : 30 years
Female maturity :730 days
Male maturity : 730 days
Gestation : 225 days
Weaning : 103 days
Litter size : 1
Litters per year : 1
Interval between litters : 365 days
Weight at birth : 1.8 kg (3.96 lbs)
Weight at weaning : 6.25 kg (13.75 lbs)
Basal metabolic rate : 34 W
Body mass : 48 kg (105.6 lbs)
Temperature : 34.85 °C (94.73 °F)
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