Food Habits

The diet of aardwolves consists solely of termites belonging to the groups Trinervitermes and Hodotermes. Consumption of these termites depends on their abundance and seasons; Trinervitermes species remain active only during warmer months and Hodotermes species remain active into cooler months. Harvester termites from the Trinervitermes group release a terpene toxin that deters many of their predators, however, aardwolves shows no aversion to this secretion. Aardwolves consume their prey by licking termites off surfaces using a flat, sticky tongue. With this method, they may consume up to 300,000 termites every night. Very little water is required, as termites usually supplement needed fluid intake.

Animal Foods: insects

Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )