Detroit Zoo Podcast Talking Points Aardvarks

On camera: Welcome to the aardvark habitat at the Detroit Zoo. Im _____, _____ and Im happy to give you an inside look into the buried life of our aardvarks. The Detroit Zoo is home to a family of three aardvarks: male Mchimbaji Baji for short , female Rachaael and female Roxaanne. Voiceover: Roxaanne is the second offspring of Rachaael and Mchimbaji. Aardvarks are plentiful in the wild but not in zoos, so the birth of Roxaanne was a significant addition to our Zoos aardvark population. The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is an African mammal whose name derives from the Afrikaans word earth pig. Adult aardvarks can weigh from 90 to 145 pounds and grow 5 to 6 feet in length. The animals unusual appearance plays a part in its success as a forager. The ears point forward to enable it to listen for the sound of insects.

 The snout is long and filled with hair that acts as a filter, letting scents in and keeping dirt out. Its strong limbs and spoon-shaped claws can tear through the sturdiest of termite mounds, allowing it to trap insects with its long, sticky tongue, which can be up to 12 inches long. Aardvarks can live up to 23 years in the wild. Aardvarks are mainly solitary animals and are nocturnal. They spend much of the day sleeping in deep burrows they dig themselves. They often dig new burrows after a nights foraging rather than return to an old one. After a seven-month gestation, the female will give birth to a single baby, which is born pink and hairless. In the wild, the baby is born deep in the mothers burrow and stays hidden underground for a few weeks before it begins to follow its mother while foraging for insects. The young remain with their mother for about six months before moving out and digging their own burrows. While foraging in grasslands and forests, aardvarks can travel several miles in search of large termite mounds.

 At the Zoo, the aardvarks eat mainly insects and enrichment foods including avocadoes, bananas and cantaloupe. On camera: Aardvarks are not considered endangered and there are currently no conservation measures. You can see the aardvarks in their African Grasslands habitat across from the giraffes.