El cerdo hormiguero (Orycteropus afer) es un insectívoro de tamaño mediano que puede encontrarse en todo el África subsahariana. Su piel es de un rosa grisáceo y está cubierta de pelo ralo y grueso, sus orejas son estrechas y su cabeza es alargada y termina en un hocico similar al del cerdo. Los machos son ligeramente más grandes que las hembras, pero ambos sexos miden entre los 105 y los 130 cm, la cola entre los 60 y los 70 cm, y pesan entre 40 y 65 kg.
Latin Name
Orycteropus afer
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aardvark
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Animal Facts
Aardvarks only have four toes on their front legs, possibly adapted to form ‘shovel like’ feet for digging.
Aardvarks have a symbiotic relationship with a species called the ‘aardvark cucumber’, a plant which grows underground and depends entirely on the aardvark for the dispersal of its seeds. The cucumber is the only non-insect food that the aardvark eats.
Female aardvarks have a white tail tip, believed to make it easier for their cub to follow them in the darkness of their burrows and during foraging.
The tongue of the aardvark is 30cm long, sticky and is used to track through tunnels of ant and termite hills to collect many insects at once.
Abandoned aardvark burrows are important habitats for other animals – mostly warthogs and hyenas.