Aardvark

Orycteropus afer · The aardvark is a medium-sized, nocturnal, burrowing mammal native to Africa.

Also called Antbear.

Aardvark
Photo: Theo Kruse Burgers' Zoo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Aardvark
Photo: (c) Nick Helme, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), CC BY-SA 4.0
Aardvark
Photo: Louise Joubert, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderTubulidentata
FamilyOrycteropodidae
GenusOrycteropus
SpeciesOrycteropus afer

Where it lives

Savannas, grasslands and woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa.

Fun facts

  • An aardvark can slurp up as many as 50,000 ants or termites in a single night with its long, sticky tongue.
  • It can dig about a yard of tunnel in just five minutes when it needs to escape danger.
  • Its teeth have no enamel at all and simply wear away and regrow throughout its life.
  • The aardvark's nose has nine olfactory bulbs, more than any other mammal, giving it an incredible sense of smell.

Play it

The Aardvark was the creature in a regional daily on October 25, 2026. Can you identify tomorrow's from its photos? Every day brings a new creature to place from kingdom to genus, map and name.

Play today's creature or replay a past daily

Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).