Aardwolf Proteles cristata Least concern
Where the aardwolf lives – recorded in 4 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 79 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See hyenas & aardwolf on the world map
| Scientific name | Proteles cristata |
|---|---|
| Group | Hyenas & aardwolf |
| Status | Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Found in | 4 countries |
| Continents | Africa |
| Mass | 10 kg (adult weight) |
| Diet (main food) | Hodotermitidae, termite |
| Class | Mammal |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family | Hyaenidae |
Where does the aardwolf live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the aardwolf in 4 countries and territories across Africa.
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
How big is an aardwolf?
Wikidata records the following for the aardwolf: mass 10 kg (adult weight).
What does an aardwolf eat?
Wikidata lists the main food source of the aardwolf as: Hodotermitidae, termite.
Is the aardwolf endangered?
The aardwolf’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the aardwolf?
The aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Hyaenidae, genus Proteles. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the aardwolf
The aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) is an insectivorous hyaenid species, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch. It is also called the maanhaarjakkals (Afrikaans for 'mane-jackal'), termite-eating hyena and civet hyena, based on its habit of secreting substances from its anal gland, a characteristic shared with the African civet.
Unlike many of its relatives in the order Carnivora, the aardwolf does not hunt large animals. It eats insects and their larvae, mainly termites; one aardwolf can lap up as many as 300,000 termites during a single night using its long, sticky tongue. The aardwolf's tongue has adapted to be tough enough to withstand the strong bite of termites.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Aardwolf (revision 1379759293), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q185295 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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