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The aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is a termite-eating, solitary forager who lives in the shrublands of eastern and southern Africa. Aardwolves enjoy a habitat of open lands covered with stunted trees and shrubs. It is a nocturnal animal, resting in burrows during the day and emerging at night to forage, where hunters on their game hunting safari will hunt them under spotlights.
The aardwolf is an insectivorous species of hyena, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means “earth-wolf” in the local South African language Afrikaans. The primary food source of the aardwolf is termites and ants. The aardwolf consumes 200,000 – 300,000 termites per night.
The aardwolf doesn’t dig for termites but rather simply laps them up with its long, sticky tongue and chews them with its peg-like molars. Maggots and other invertebrates with soft bodies are also occasionally consumed.
Aardwolves are monogamous but generally solitary animals, only coming together to mate and rear young. They are sometimes seen in pairs or small groups.
The aardwolf’s predators include lions, leopards, poisonous snakes, and spotted hyenas that will kill both the cubs and adults. Aardwolf cubs are targeted by black-backed jackals as easy prey.
Name:
Proteles Cristata
Weight:
15-22 pounds with larger specimen reaching 33 pounds
Shoulder Height:
16-20 inches
Range:
Eastern and Southern Africa
Mating Season:
June-July
Life span:
15 years
The Aardwolf is an Elusive Wolf That is a Trophy to Any Hunter
The aardwolf, whose name in Afrikaans means “earth wolf,” is yellowish with vertical black stripes and a bushy black-tipped tail. It stands less than 16-20 inches tall at the shoulder and varies in length from 22-31 inches. This, however, does exclude its bushy tail that measures around 8-12 inches on its own. An adult aardwolf weighs 15-22 pounds, with larger specimens weighing up to 33 pounds. The aardwolf resembles a very thin striped hyena, but with a slenderer muzzle and black vertical stripes on a coat of yellowish fur. The animal has a long, distinct mane down the midline of the neck and back and also has one or two diagonal stripes down the fore- and hindquarters, along with several stripes on its legs.
Where hunting in Africa, there are times, depending on the target, the game could be sitting right there in the open plains waiting for you, while with others, like the aardwolf, you need to work hard to catch a glimpse of the shy fellow, never mind get within range to hunt him! But, once you have the aardwolf in your sights, you will realize how fortunate you are to be on a hunting adventure in Africa, ready to take home a magnificent trophy of one of Africa’s specialty animals.
When hunting in South Africa for aardwolf, your hunting safari will take place at night, as they are nocturnal. Even then, these animals are highly elusive, but there have been high success rates in both the Eastern Cape and Free State provinces in South Africa. Spotlights are used on the hunting safari. Aardwolves are protected, and hunting legislation differs from area to area. Permits are available to hunt them, with prior approval. They are elusive, shy, and secretive, which makes the challenge of locating and harvesting the aardwolf even more of a hunting adventure!
When hunting aardwolf in Africa, the hunter needs to consider that this forth member of the hyena family is nocturnal. A low caliber rifle loaded with a solid bullet will get the job done. The rifle should be fitted with good optics, to allow for low light conditions.
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