Ever heard of an aardwolf? If the answer is no then prepare yourself for the most adorable animal you never even knew existed.
These wild animals come from the same family as the hyena, which explains why they look so similar, but unlike their bone-chomping cousins, aardwolves prefer to munch on termites, much like an aardvark (the word “aard” actually comes from the Dutch word “aarde” by the way, which means earth).
They’re native to East and Southern Africa, where they live in underground burrows. These unique animals often don’t dig the holes themselves, however, preferring to inhabit abandoned burrows of other animals. They’re shy and nocturnal creatures, although during the winter they’ll conserve energy by sleeping at night and feeding during the day. These cute animals have long sticky tongues which they use to lap up thousands of termites. A single aardwolf can eat up to 300,000 termites per night! An adult aardwolf grows to roughly the same size as a fox, and being monogamous creatures, they stay with the same mate for their entire lifetime. Did we also mention these interesting animals were super cute? Well, they are. Scroll down to see these unusual animals for yourself.
This little critter is a baby aardwolf
Image credits: arkive
The adults are just as cute as the babies
Image credits: Unknown
Aardwolves come from the same family as the hyena, but these guys have mohawks!
Image credits: Unknown
Unlike their bone-chomping cousins, aardwolves prefer to munch on termites
Image credits: Hennie van Heerden
They’re nocturnal creatures and they live in underground burrows in East and Southern Africa
Image credits: Unknown
Scientists once thought they were solitary creatures, but actually they’re very family oriented
Image credits: Ohange Namibia Lodge
They often don’t dig the holes themselves however, preferring to inhabit abandoned burrows of other animals
Image credits: Daryl Balfour
They have long sticky tongues which they use to lap up thousands of termites
Image credits: Nigel J Dennis
A single aardwolf can eat up to 300,000 termites per night!
Image credits: Cincinnati zoo
An adult grows to roughly the same size as a fox
Image credits: Animals-Safaris
Being monogamous creatures, they stay with the same mate for their entire lifetime
Image credits: Gerard Lacz
330Kviews
Share on FacebookAgree. I've always loved aardwolves, they have that cuteness and gracefulness their relatives, the hyenas, lack.
Load More Replies...Made me think of a fox who is into punk music. This is a good thing.
Load More Replies...Aardwolf: The Hyena Pokemon. The evolved form of Mohawk. Aardwolfs are exceedingly cute.
Wow...how coincidental...I was just looking up aardwolves yesterday. Get out of my brain! ;)
Yeah beautiful creatures, now lets leave them be to be wild animals and not bothering them again for photos.
Ok sure, we here in South Africa will just close all our natural parks to conservationists, wildlife photographers and tourists. I mean, it's not like these people actually generate the revenue we need to actually protect these animals!
Load More Replies...It's hardly large, the adults only grow to the size of a fox ☺
Load More Replies...I'm learning Dutch at the moment, Aardbei is how you say strawberry, any dutch people on here know if the name has any kind of connection?
Indeed. Aard means earth in both words and wolf is the same in both languages. Aardbei is literally earth berry. Bei is kind of an old word for berry.
Load More Replies...Since they are in East Africa, The name most probably comes from Arabic أرض , pronounced 'ard', which means 'earth'.
It comes from Afrikaans. It means "earth wolf"
Load More Replies...Unfortunately not: They do not destroy the termite mound or consume the entire colony, thus ensuring that the termites can rebuild and provide a continuous supply of food. They often memorize the location of such nests and return to them every few months.
Load More Replies...FYI- stripped Hyenas also have the very long guard hairs on their backs. But not the spotted hyenas.
Cute, but not the cutest, and yes I had heard of these. I hate these headings.
Very cool to see these animals getting some love and attention. The documentary Castles of Clay and the The Rich Man’s Table episode of The Velvet Claw series both have very nice footage of these guys doing their stuff in the wild.
This deserves a million up votes and more... I so need an aardwolf.. like right now..🐕💞💚💖💜💝😇
That is so interesting. I've heard of those before. I'm going to look them up on Google.
Yay I love them!! I also really love that now we know more than just birds and humans mate for life. :)
Although it’s not uncommon for a bonded vixen to mate with a neighboring male on the side, lol.
Load More Replies...Wow! love it when I learn something new every day. Heard about aardwolves but never seen one. Beautiful animal. Thanks.
Some triggerfinger see´s this and want to go for a hunt. The problem with showing the world the cuteness
I think a hyena and a fox bred. I have heard of interspecies breeding. Looks like that to me. But CUTE, oh boy are they. Especially the littlest pups when they are first born. Oh yeah I'm hooked.
Where can I rent one? They're much cuter than tenting and blowing poisonous gas all over my house.
Sorry, Bored Panda, I had HEARD of them...just didn't know how they looked.
Is this for real!? I need a post on all the u known animals of the world! I'm sure there are so many!
I never saw these aardwolves before either, they´re adorable, I hope they won´t be killed by some wild-gone hunters or poachers!!! 😲😲😲💖💖💖
Awwwww! Why don't we ever hear of these cuties? Like- Hyenas, yea, i know them, but these guys?! So cute~!
I also like hyenas too, although scientifically, their lives suck. Look up MinuteEarth for that.
Load More Replies...I love aardwolves, they are so cute, I swear they are my spirit animal
and one looks like a cross between a bat and a prairie dog. A prairie bat?
Load More Replies...As a wild animal I probably wouldn't recommend it!
Load More Replies...Agree. I've always loved aardwolves, they have that cuteness and gracefulness their relatives, the hyenas, lack.
Load More Replies...Made me think of a fox who is into punk music. This is a good thing.
Load More Replies...Aardwolf: The Hyena Pokemon. The evolved form of Mohawk. Aardwolfs are exceedingly cute.
Wow...how coincidental...I was just looking up aardwolves yesterday. Get out of my brain! ;)
Yeah beautiful creatures, now lets leave them be to be wild animals and not bothering them again for photos.
Ok sure, we here in South Africa will just close all our natural parks to conservationists, wildlife photographers and tourists. I mean, it's not like these people actually generate the revenue we need to actually protect these animals!
Load More Replies...It's hardly large, the adults only grow to the size of a fox ☺
Load More Replies...I'm learning Dutch at the moment, Aardbei is how you say strawberry, any dutch people on here know if the name has any kind of connection?
Indeed. Aard means earth in both words and wolf is the same in both languages. Aardbei is literally earth berry. Bei is kind of an old word for berry.
Load More Replies...Since they are in East Africa, The name most probably comes from Arabic أرض , pronounced 'ard', which means 'earth'.
It comes from Afrikaans. It means "earth wolf"
Load More Replies...Unfortunately not: They do not destroy the termite mound or consume the entire colony, thus ensuring that the termites can rebuild and provide a continuous supply of food. They often memorize the location of such nests and return to them every few months.
Load More Replies...FYI- stripped Hyenas also have the very long guard hairs on their backs. But not the spotted hyenas.
Cute, but not the cutest, and yes I had heard of these. I hate these headings.
Very cool to see these animals getting some love and attention. The documentary Castles of Clay and the The Rich Man’s Table episode of The Velvet Claw series both have very nice footage of these guys doing their stuff in the wild.
This deserves a million up votes and more... I so need an aardwolf.. like right now..🐕💞💚💖💜💝😇
That is so interesting. I've heard of those before. I'm going to look them up on Google.
Yay I love them!! I also really love that now we know more than just birds and humans mate for life. :)
Although it’s not uncommon for a bonded vixen to mate with a neighboring male on the side, lol.
Load More Replies...Wow! love it when I learn something new every day. Heard about aardwolves but never seen one. Beautiful animal. Thanks.
Some triggerfinger see´s this and want to go for a hunt. The problem with showing the world the cuteness
I think a hyena and a fox bred. I have heard of interspecies breeding. Looks like that to me. But CUTE, oh boy are they. Especially the littlest pups when they are first born. Oh yeah I'm hooked.
Where can I rent one? They're much cuter than tenting and blowing poisonous gas all over my house.
Sorry, Bored Panda, I had HEARD of them...just didn't know how they looked.
Is this for real!? I need a post on all the u known animals of the world! I'm sure there are so many!
I never saw these aardwolves before either, they´re adorable, I hope they won´t be killed by some wild-gone hunters or poachers!!! 😲😲😲💖💖💖
Awwwww! Why don't we ever hear of these cuties? Like- Hyenas, yea, i know them, but these guys?! So cute~!
I also like hyenas too, although scientifically, their lives suck. Look up MinuteEarth for that.
Load More Replies...I love aardwolves, they are so cute, I swear they are my spirit animal
and one looks like a cross between a bat and a prairie dog. A prairie bat?
Load More Replies...As a wild animal I probably wouldn't recommend it!
Load More Replies...
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