Aardvarks are unusual animals. They originated from Africa and are tough, burrowing mammals. The staff at Sugar Land Chiropractors find it fascinating that aardvarks are the only living species of the Tubulidentata order. This order refers to mammals with tubule-style teeth. Aardvarks are from the genus Orycteropus which referred to its burrowing feet. Aardvarks tend to resemble pigs.
They are also called earth hogs or ant bears.
The aardvark gets its name from African words that translate as ìearth pigî or ground pig. This is because it creates burrows to live in. The staff at Sugar Land Chiropractors understand that aardvarks can be found across the African continent, however, it does not like rocky places.
Aardvarks can be traced all the way back to the Paleocene era. It is considered interesting to Sugar Land Chiropractors that aardvarks can be traced so far back in time. It is closely related to tenrecs, golden moles and elephant shrews. It is not closely related to pigs or South American anteaters. Aardvarks have a stout body covered in coarse hairs. The resemble pigs even though they are not closely related. They have four limbs, with the forelegs being shorter than the rear legs. It is considered a unique feature that these mammals have four toes on its forefeet and five toes on its rear feet. Their feet are shaped like spades.
The nails on the aardvarkís feet are hoof-like claws. These claws feel like steel and are used to tear into hard ground and termite mounds. The coloring on an aardvark is a pale yellowish gray which becomes reddish-brown by being stained in the soil. The staff at Sugar Land Chiropractors find it interesting that aardvarks have a long snout which it uses to search for food. The tips of their snouts are particularly mobile. The aardvarkís tail is thick at the base and narrows toward the end. T has rabbit like ears. Aardvarks can weight up to 180 pounds.
Because aardvarks burrow in the dirt they are able to close their nostrils. They have very poor eyesight but very sharp senses of hearing and smell. They like to make their habitats in grasslands, woodlands and savannas. They do not live in swamps or rocky terrain where it is difficult to dig burrows. During the day, aardvarks are found in their burrows so they can avoid the heat of the day. It is understandable to Sugar Land Chiropractors that aardvarks would not want to be in the heat during the day. It is extremely important that their habitat is full of ants and termites as this is their food.
Sugar Land Chiropractors and Aardvarks
Aardvarks live up to 23 years when held in captivity. The staff at Sugar Land Chiropractors wonder how long aardvarks live in the wild. They serve as prey for many species of animals such as lion, leopards, cheetahs, pythons and hyenas. In order to escape their predators, aardvarks will run in a zigzag pattern or dig extremely fast. Aardvarks will dig burrows that have more than one opening and they often change burrows. Many times, their old burrows become homes for lions, hyenas, wild dogs, warthogs and pythons. There many burrows can be classified according to function such as foraging, resting or refuge from predators and for permanent settlement.
Aardvarks are nocturnal and travel every night to forage for food. They use their nose and ears to search for food. It is interesting to Sugar Land Chiropractors that the only items they eat are ants and termites. They can eat aardvark cucumber but that is the only type of fruit they can eat. It is unclear to Sugar Land Chiropractors what aardvark cucumbers are. Ants and termites do not bite aardvarks even though they have tough skin to protect them. The only time an aardvark is likely to make noise is when it is frightened. It will make a wavering cry.
Aardvarks are solitary mammals and only pair up during mating season. The gestation period is seven months. A baby aardvark is called a cub. A cub become mature enough to dig burrows when they are approximately six months of age. A cub stays with its mother until the next breeding season. It takes two years before an aardvark becomes sexually mature. Aardvark is the first work listed in the English dictionary since it starts with two ìaî at the beginning. Aardvarks are digitigrades. This simply means they walk on their toes.
They do not walk on the soles of their feet. The only time an aardvark stands on its soles is when it is squatting. An aardvark can eat 50,000 to 60,000 ants and termites in one night. Surprisingly, they are very good swimmers. The first zoo to have an aardvark in captivity was the London Zoo in 1869. Aardvarks are respected in African folklore dur to their diligence in hunting for food. Many African tribes with use aardvark teeth to make good luck charm bracelets.
Aardvarks are mammals that reproduce giving birth to live young. They only give birth t o one baby at a time. There are only two mammals known to lay eggs and they are the platypus and echidna. Once the baby aardvark is born, the mother produces milk for it to drink. The baby aardvark, or cub, is born without hair and they stay inside the burrow or a least a week. The baby drinks the motherís milk for abbot four months and then it will begin to start eating insects.
An aardvarkís main predators are humans, lions, hyenas, pythons and leopards. They tend to burrow deeply and hide from predators when they are in danger. These creatures also have a keen sense of smell and a great sense of hearing. This helps them easily detect when danger is near. They are able to run in zig zags to escape from and confuse their enemies.
However, when all else fails they can be found striking predators with their spoon shaped claws, tail and shoulders. Aardvarks also have a rare characteristic of flipping onto their backs when it feels threatened. This results in a type of somersault. Another thing that helps aardvarks survive attacks from predators is their thick skin. Aardvarks are sometimes underestimated by humans and other predators, when in fact they have front legs that are short and power for digging. This enables them to excavate a termite mound in just a few minutes.