# Aardvark (*Orycteropus afer*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/aardvark  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The aardvark (Orycteropus afer), also called antbear or earth-hog, is a mammal in the order Tubulidentata and the family Orycteropodidae. It is a large, nocturnal, terrestrial animal with an adult body mass of 52.35 kg, and our sources report adults up to 56.18 kg. The aardvark is an invertivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level. Gestation lasts 222 days, females have 1 litter per year, sexual maturity comes at 2 years, and lifespan is 24 years, with values up to 29.8 years reported.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 52.4 kg – 56.2 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 24 years – 29.8 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 183 days – 244 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 – 1.03 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years – 2.07 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Tubulidentata
- family: Orycteropodidae
- genus: Orycteropus
- species: *Orycteropus afer* (Pallas, 1766)

Synonyms: *Myrmecophaga afra*, *Myrmecophaga capensis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is an aardvark?

The aardvark is a mammal in the order Tubulidentata and the family Orycteropodidae. It is a large, nocturnal, terrestrial animal.

### How heavy is an aardvark?

An adult aardvark has a body mass of 52.35 kg, and our sources report adults up to 56.18 kg.

### What does an aardvark eat?

The aardvark is an invertivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level.

### Is the aardvark endangered?

No. The aardvark is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does an aardvark live?

The aardvark has a lifespan of 24 years, and our sources report values up to 29.8 years.

### How many young does an aardvark have?

An aardvark has 1 litter per year with 1.03 young per litter, after a gestation period of 222 days.

### Who named the aardvark?

The aardvark, Orycteropus afer, was named by (Pallas, 1766).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Aardvark (Orycteropus afer). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/aardvark