L'oryctérope du Cap (Orycteropus afer) est un insectivore de taille moyenne qu'on trouve à travers toute l'Afrique subsaharienne. Doté d'une peau rose grisée et de poils épars et épais, il a de longues oreilles fines et une tête allongée se terminant par un groin. Les mâles sont un peu plus gros que les femelles, mais les individus des deux sexes mesurent entre 105 et 130 cm de long, avec une queue de 60 à 70 cm, et pèsent entre 40 et 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.