Dave Taylor's African Safari: Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores - Aardwolf

Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores
Aardwolf
Page 45

Proteles crisata

Length: 55-80 cm (26-32")

Height: 40-50 cm (16-20")

Tail: 20-30 cm (8-10’)

Weight: 8-12 kg (18-26 lb.)

Status: Not endangered but frequently shot or trapped for its fur. Numbers are declining throughout Africa.

Habitat: The aardwolf is found wherever its main prey species, harvester termites, are found. These insects flourish in heavily grazed and trampled grasslands and savannas.

Food: Aardwolves eat two species of harvester termites (Trinervitermes and Hodotermes). They will also eat small numbers of dung beetles, grasshoppers and moths.

To find termites, the aardwolf will walk slowly with its head down and ears cocked. It listens for the sound of the termites carrying dried grass. When it finds them, it licks them up. When they are attacked by aardwolves, the termites respond by deploying their soldier termites which spray the attacker with a distasteful chemical (turpinods). This has little effect, as can be seen by aardwolf scats which contain about 50% of workers and soldier termites. Aardwolf scats have a strong odor of ammonia and are buried by the animal. Aardwolves bury their scats in sandy soil. Before defecating, the animal digs a shallow trench. When done its business, the animal buries the scat. Such scats contain large amounts of straw and pebbles that the animal took in while licking up insects. These latrines are used over and over again but do not mark territory.

Social System: Aardwolves will defend a territory that may be as small as 1 or 2 square kilometers (.3-.8 square miles) where there is a high density of termite mounds. In a study done in South Africa, one pair’s territory contained 3,000 termite mounds (about 165 million termites).

A territory will be defended vigorously in good times but in poor times, little energy is wasted on this. A territory is marked along borders by secretions from the anal glands. Every 50 meters or so a grass stem or twig is marked with the animal’s "paste".

There may be as many as 10 dens within the territory. One or two of these will be used regularly as daytime lairs for a month to a month and a half at a time. Aardwolves rarely dig their own burrows. They prefer to use those excavated by other animals such as the aardvark.

Jackals are not tolerated near the aardwolf’s den.

Bonds between paired animals appear to be loose. They forage and sleep alone. Unlike other members of the hyena family, they do not engage in social grooming or elaborate greetings. Males, however, do assist with the raising of young. Usually, males have only one mate but there are reports of several females and young sharing a den. It may be that daughters remain in their mother’s territory.

During the breeding season, a male aardwolf may have to fight other males two or three times a week to keep them away from his spouse.

Behavior: After a gestation period of 90 to 100 days, the female gives birth to two or three young. Babies are born with their eyes open, but are otherwise helpless. They will not emerge from the den until they are six to eight weeks old. The male will spend up to six hours a day baby-sitting at the den while the female forages.

At four months of age, the cubs forage with one of the adults. They reach adult size at nine months and by the time they are a year old, they have left their parents’ territory.

Predators: Lions, spotted hyenas and leopards may occasionally take an aardwolf.

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