Aardwolf
Proteles cristata (Sparrman, 1783)
The aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is a living mammal of the family Hyaenidae, subfamily Protelinae, in the order Carnivora. It is a nocturnal, terrestrial invertivore whose main foods are hodotermitidae and termite.
Quick facts about the aardwolf
A medium-sized mammal by adult body mass, it weighs from 8 to 12 kg, with a representative value of 8.1 kg. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 8 kg – 12 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 19.5 years – 25 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- hodotermitidae, termitesrc for Main food
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 88.3 days – 93 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 20.7 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the aardwolf
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the aardwolf live?
Not recorded
What is the aardwolf?
The aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) is an insectivorous hyaenid species, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch. It is also called the maanhaarjakkals (Afrikaans for 'mane-jackal'), termite-eating hyena and civet hyena, based on its habit of secreting substances from its anal gland, a characteristic shared with the African civet.
Unlike many of its relatives in the order Carnivora, the aardwolf does not hunt large animals. It eats insects and their larvae, mainly termites; one aardwolf can lap up as many as 300,000 termites during a single night using its long, sticky tongue. The aardwolf's tongue has adapted to be tough enough to withstand the strong bite of termites.
The aardwolf lives in the shrublands of Eastern and Southern Africa – open lands covered with stunted trees and shrubs. It is nocturnal, resting in burrows during the day and emerging at night to seek food.
From the Wikipedia article “Aardwolf” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aardwolf&oldid=1379759293), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the aardwolf endangered?
The aardwolf is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the aardwolf classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyHyaenidae
- genusProteles
- SpeciesProteles cristata (Sparrman, 1783)
Synonyms Proteles cristatus, Viverra cristata
Relatives of the aardwolf
Other species in the same genus Proteles.
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the aardwolf?
The aardwolf is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Hyaenidae, subfamily Protelinae.
What does the aardwolf eat?
The aardwolf is an invertivore whose main foods are hodotermitidae and termite.
How heavy is an aardwolf?
Adult Aardwolves weigh from 8 to 12 kg, with a representative value of 8.1 kg.
Is the aardwolf endangered?
No. The aardwolf is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does an aardwolf live?
Sources give a lifespan of 19.5 years for the aardwolf, with values up to 25 years.
How many young does an aardwolf have?
An aardwolf has from 2 to 4 young per litter, after a gestation period of 88 days.
Is the aardwolf nocturnal?
Yes. The aardwolf is nocturnal and terrestrial.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Aardwolf (Proteles cristata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/aardwolf
“Aardwolf (Proteles cristata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/aardwolf.
@misc{aardwolf_2026,
title = {Aardwolf (Proteles cristata)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/aardwolf},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}