Aardvark
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Aardvark

Orycteropus afer

Silhouette: Pearson Scott Foresman · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
at Tsavo West National Park
1 Verified sightings at Tsavo West National Park From 2019 to 2026
37 Verified sightings across all 15 parks From 2019 to 2026
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted Active throughout day and night

About the Aardvark

The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. The aardvark is the only living member of the genus Orycteropus, the family Orycteropodidae and the order Tubulidentata. The aardvark is an afrotherian, a clade that also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes.

It is found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. A nocturnal feeder, the aardvark subsists on ants and termites (myrmecophagy) by using its sharp claws and powerful legs to dig the insects out of their hills, and its long snout to sniff out food. It digs a burrow in which to live and rear its young.

The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the "African ant bear", "anteater" (not to be confused with the South American anteaters), or the "Cape anteater". The name aardvark is Afrikaans (pronounced [ˈɑːrtfark]) and comes from earlier Afrikaans erdvark. It means 'earth pig' or 'ground pig' (aarde: 'earth', vark: 'pig, young pig'), because of its burrowing habits.

The name Orycteropus means 'burrowing foot', and the name afer refers to Africa. The name of the aardvark's order... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
2 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
3 Waterberg Plateau Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
Insufficient data
4 Golden Gate Highlands National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
5 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
Insufficient data
6 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
7 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
Insufficient data
8 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
9 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
10 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
11 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
12 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
13 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
14 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
15 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
← Back to Tsavo West National Park