Where does the aardvark live ?
Aardvark is the common name for a burrowing, ant eating mammal that is found throughout much of Africa, from the southern part of Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope. It is a nocturnal animal that lives in tunnels and feeds entirely on ants and termites.Aardvark is an African word meaning “earth pig.”The aardvark can grow to be six feet long, including a fleshy, tapering tail which it uses to throw earth backward when it burrows. It has an arched back, a tubular snout and large, upright ears. The aardvark uses its specialized, chisel shaped claws to break open the hard clay of termite nests. Then it uses its sticky tongue to capture the insects in the nest.Unlike the animals known as anteaters, which are toothless, the aardvark has 20 cylindrical, rootless teeth that grow continually throughout its lifetime.The female aardvark gives birth to a single offspring, which digs its own burrow at the age of six months.Although timid, the aardvark will fight when it cannot flee or burrow to safety.
You may visit the amazing aardvark in certain zoos in this country. But America is not his native home. In the wild, he lives in two parts of Africa. He enjoys life in South Africa and farther north, in the sandy regions of Ethiopia and Sudan. The aardvark has good reasons for liking these places. They are where hordes of termites like to live and termites are his favorite food. These termites are rather special because they live in enormous nests out in the wilds. The build them of dirt that becomes hard as rock in the hot sun. One of these apartment houses, teeming with termites, may be five, six or seven feet high. Mr. Aardvark comes out from his burrow after dark. When he finds a termite nest he tears down the hard, high walls with his mighty claws. The termites scuttle around in panic. He whips out his long, sticky tongue and pops them into his mouth.
