THE ANIMAL FILES

Aardvark

Orycteropus afer

A sticky tongue meets a muscular stomach.

The aardvark's feeding equipment extends beyond its long snout. Sticky saliva helps collect small prey, unusual teeth occupy the back of the mouth, and a muscular stomach region processes swallowed food. Its digging also leaves shelter that other animals can later use.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Aardvark
Image: Kelly Abram · Commons · CC BY 4.0
Collecting small prey
The long tongue stays sticky with saliva.[1]
Food processing inside
A muscular stomach region grinds food.[1]
Burrows with later tenants
Vacated burrows shelter other animals.[1]

Collecting small prey

A narrow mouth and protruding tongue suit feeding on ants and termites. Large salivary glands supply the tacky coating. The snout is mobile, and smell helps locate food before digging and tongue movements reach the prey.[1]

Food processing inside

Adult cheek teeth lack enamel and contain bundles of narrow dentine tubes. The muscular pyloric part of the stomach also grinds swallowed material. Food processing is therefore distributed across specialised structures rather than depending on a conventional set of front cutting teeth.[1]

Burrows with later tenants

Aardvarks excavate feeding holes, temporary refuges and larger home burrows. Other mammals, birds or reptiles can occupy a home after the aardvark leaves.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Is a long pig-like snout enough to classify an aardvark as a pig?

No. Aardvarks belong to Tubulidentata, a mammal order separate from the group containing pigs.[2]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why would finding an owl in a large burrow not identify the excavator?

Reveal the explanation

Vacated aardvark burrows can be reused by other animals. Occupancy and construction are separate events.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Aardvark (cited revision)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Orycteropus afer

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

West Indian manateeA manatee explores with hairs far beyond the edges of its face.Trichechus manatus ↗African bush elephantGrass, branches and water leave their marks on elephant society.Loxodonta africana ↗Rock hyraxSoft foot pads put a small plant-eater at home on rock.Procavia capensis ↗