Why is this animal unusual?
Other hyenas have jaws that crush bone. The aardwolf’s cheek teeth have shrunk to tiny pegs, because it doesn’t chew – it just licks.
Why does it look like that?
Its long, broad, sticky tongue is built for mopping up termites, and it’s tough enough to ignore the chemical spray they use for defence. The mane along its back stands up when it’s scared, making it look far bigger.
Strangest biological feature
An appetite for one thing. A single aardwolf can eat a quarter of a million termites in a night.
Why is it strange?
It never destroys a termite mound. It eats what’s on the surface and moves on, so the colony recovers – a predator that farms its food.
Interesting behavioral facts
Aardwolves are shy, live in pairs and mark their territory with smelly paste from a gland under the tail. They sleep the day away in old burrows.
Records held
Its name means “earth wolf” in Afrikaans.
