땅돼지(Orycteropus afer)는 사하라 이남 아프리카 전역에 서식하는 중간 크기의 식충 동물입니다. 분홍빛 회색 피부에 굵은 털이 듬성듬성 나 있고, 날씬하고 거대한 귀를 가졌으며, 긴 머리끝에는 돼지코와 비슷한 주둥이가 있습니다. 수컷은 암컷보다 약간 크지만 두 성별의 길이는 보통 105~130cm입니다. 60~70cm 길이의 꼬리를 가졌고, 무게는 40~65kg입니다.
Latin Name
Orycteropus afer
Featured
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Slug
aardvark
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Conservation Status
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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.