The aardwolf, whose name in Afrikaans means “earth wolf,” is yellowish with vertical black stripes and a bushy black-tipped tail, a mammal that belongs to the family of hyenas, found in Africa. It has a yellowish fur with vertical black stripes and has a narrow muzzle and pointed ears. It’s long and sticky tongue is specialised for catching termites.When the aardwolf smells termites or hears the rustle of thousands of them in the grass with its sensitive pointed ears, it laps them up with its sticky tongue. It is a nocturnal (active during the night), solitary and territorial creature. Although aardwolves forage alone, they live in breeding pairs that defend a territory marked by secretions from the anal glands. When attacked they may fight, and a musky-smelling fluid is emitted. Shelters can be holes, crevices, and abandoned porcupine and aardvark burrows, where usually two or three cubs are born during the rainy months, when termites are most active. Cubs are weaned by four months and have left their parents’ territory by the time the next litter is born. The aardwolf is most often classified in the family Hyaenidae, but some authorities place it in a family of its own called Protelidae.
Credit : Britannica
Picture Credit : Google
