History of... Aardwolf

Name:
Aardwolf

Scientific Name:
Proteles cristata

Family:
Hyaenidae

Conservation Status:
Least Concern

Habitation:
open plains, savannas, and grasslands

Global Location:
Eastern and Southern Africa

Discovery:
Fossils have been found and aged at around 4 million years ago

The aardwolf is native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means earth wolf. It is also called the maanhaar jackal (mane-jackal).

Unlike many of its close relative, the hyena, the aardwolf does not hunt large animals. They live mainly on termites and suppiment that diet with insects and larvae. Occasionally they will eat eggs, small animals and birds.

One aardwolf can eat around 250,000 termites in one night. Unlike an anteater, the aardwolf will not destroy a termite nest to get to the termites. It eats he termites that are outside and on the surface of the mound. Aardwolves also do not eat all of the termites in a mound. They leave enough so that the mound will rebuild its population for the aardwolf to return and feast on again.

The aardwolf lives in the shrub lands of eastern and southern Africa. It is nocturnal, resting in burrows during the day and emerging at night to seek food. When food is scarce they will come out and feed on a different species of termite that is active during the day.

The aardwolf resembles a much smaller and thinner striped hyena, with a more slender muzzle, black vertical stripes on a coat of yellowish fur, and a long, distinct mane down the midline of the neck and back. It also has one or two diagonal stripes down the fore and hindquarters and several stripes on its legs. Its lower leg is all black, and its tail is bushy with a black tip. The front feet have five toes each, unlike hyenas.

Aaardwolves are around 55 to 80 cm (22 to 31 in) long, excluding its bushy tail, which is about 20–30 cm (7.9–11.8 in) long and stands about 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) tall at the shoulders. An adult aardwolf weighs approximately 7–10 kg (15–22 lb)

Aardwolf are primarily solitary animals, though during mating season they form monogamous pairs which occupy a territory with their young of around 4 km2 (1.54 sq mi)
When food is scarce, the territorial system may be abandoned and several pairs may occupy a single territory.

An aardwolf pair may have up to 10 dens which are usually abandoned aardvark, springhare, or porcupine dens. Typically they will only use one or two dens at a time, rotating through all of their dens every six months. They have numerous faeces middens, within their territory.

Gestation lasts up to 92 days, producing two to five cubs during the rainy season of October to December which is when the termites are most active. The first six to eight weeks are spent in the den with their parents. The male may spend up to six hours a night watching over the cubs while the mother is out looking for food. After three months the cubs join he adults foraging.

The cubs are fully weaned at around 4 months but continue to share the den until the next breeding season. By the time the next cubs are born the previous cubs have move on to their own dens. Aardwolves are fully mature at around 18 months to two years.

Aardwolves live to around 8 to 10 years in the wild. A captive aardwolf lived to 18 years.