Hiking Suikerboschfontein - Part 15 - A bear that eats ants?

A name that may only be familiar because it is usually the first word in the English dictionary.

The Aardvark or Ant Bear

source

There wasn't much in the way of large animals to be seen on the hike besides cows, baboons, fellow hikers and did I say cows? We did spot one small antelope on the drive out also.

On a more interesting note I did come across one of these... a disused Ant Bear hole.

Aardvark's are prolific diggers and leave holes all over the bush... driving at high speed through long grass you can quite easily leave and axil behind in one of these...

This on pictured above is obviously no longer used by its excavator (due to the plants growing in its entrance) but they are heavily used as shelters by smaller animals.

I have never seen one of these, let alone photographed one, but there are plenty of their handiwork's to be seen around the bush in the form of burrows and damaged termite mounds.

I searched the net for a couple of video's for you to see them in digging and feeding action.

Here is a video shot in the daytime for a better look, if you can handle the country music...

To be continued...