Aardvark  (Orycteropus afer)

Range

The aardvark is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara, from Senegal, east to Ethiopia and south to South Africa (1), although it is absent from the Namib Desert (1).

View a distribution map for this species at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Habitat

Within its large range, the aardvark occurs in a great variety of habitats, including grasslands, rainforests, savanna and woodland, with its presence largely dictated by the distribution of suitable ant and termite species (1). It shows a preference for areas of sandy soil (5), and will avoid rocky ground that is hard to dig in and habitats that are extremely dry (1).

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