Animals

The March of the Red Crab
A Moth Find a New Home
Suicidal Birds
A leopard and A cheetah
The Spectacular Hornbill
The Antelope with an extraordinary nose
Masquerading Males
Tiny But Powerful
Electric Fishes
Paternal Care
Hairless Cat
Passionate Parrot
Calling Out To Mother
Hot Wheels
Discs On Their Wings
Two-humped Camels
Frozen Frog
Silken Chambers
Earth Pig
Swordsman of the Sea
The Ostrich Trick
Electrifying Meal
Bizarre Turtle
Grey Whales
The Flying Lemur
The Winged Fishing Creature
Llamas
A Different Sort of a Parrot
The Tailless Cat
The Ancestor Of The Rhino
Acquisitive Wood Rats
The Butterflyfish
The Amazing Jumper
The Largest Deer
The Devil’s Coach-Horse
The Porcupine With A Prehensile Tail
The Irritating Fencing
The Acrobatic Otter
The Busy Termite Colony
Superb Mimics
The Canary
Snow Monkey
Jumping Spiders
Glass Lizard
Beetle Rhino
The World’s Smallest Bear
Hygienic Ants
Flat as a Pancake
The Carpet Shark
The Centipede Walk

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Earth Pig

The aardvark whose name means ‘earth pig’ in the Afrikaans language has a long snout but does not resemble a pig in any other way.
A timid animal, it hides in burrows during the day, and comes out at night in search of food – ants and termites. It uses its powerful claws to dig up the ground to get at its prey. If danger threatens, it digs furiously and escapes into the ground taking only a few minutes to cover itself completely in the soil.
After digging out its prey the aardvark gathers the ants or termites with its long, sticky tongue. Its teeth are not of much use to it. Unlike the teeth of other mammals whose teeth are covered with enamel, the aardvark’s teeth are covered with a soft, grey substance called cementum.
The animal is found only in Africa.

Its chief enemies are men and lions both of whom hunt it for food. As its only weapons are its claws, if it is cornered it rolls on its back and uses its claws to defend itself.

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Last updated on :5/12/2006

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User's Comments

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bob: Good facts.

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