Aardwolf Basic Facts

The aardwolf is a hyena- like mammal that lives in eastern Africa, central Africa, and southern Africa in shrublands and bushlands. It eats insects, mostly termites, and consumes 250, 000 termites a night. It is nocturnal and it's scientific name is proteles cristata. The word "aardwolf" means "earth wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch. Another name for it is "maanhaar jackal" which is "mane jackal" in Afrikaans. One final name for the aardwolf is civet hyena. This mammal has yellowish fur and black stripes all over it's body. It is 55- 80 cm (22- 31 in) long without it's tail and it's tail is 20- 30 cm (3.9- 11.8 in) long. Southern aardwolves tend to weigh less and be smaller in size. Eastern aardwolves weigh  about 14 kg (22lbs), while southern aardwolves weigh about 10 kg (31 lbs). The aardwolf does not live near mountains because they need to live close to their food. Eastern aardwolves eat T. bettonianus termites, central aardwolves eat T. rhodesiensis termites, and southern aardwolves eat T. trinervoides termites.