Aardvark - Daily Life

Aardvark means 'earth-pig' in Afrikaans. They are very secretive animals so very little is known about their way of life. They are active by night, and have been shown by the use of radio collars to travel up to 30km in a night. They live alone, except for females with young, in burrows 3-4 metres long, with a sleeping chamber at the far end which is large enough to allow them to turn around easily.

They are clean animals, and small pits are dug around the burrow for their droppings. When full, these are covered over with earth. Each animal will have several burrows, some of which are just shelters from bad weather, or bolt-holes to protect them from predators. Larger sites are used for breeding, and these may have a number of large chambers which can be up to 13 metres long and can be reached via several entrances.