In case you’re terribly undereducated about the calendar of each days special dedication, then let me be the first to tell you that the second week of March is National Aardvark week. Not a day. A whole week. After all, being a widely underappreciated specimen of this Earth, they deserve a week to make up for it.
Aardvarks are a unique creature that is rather pig-like, with a name derived from the South African language Afrikaans meaning “earth pig,” according to National Geographic. However, they also feature rabbit-like ears and a kangaroo-esque tale. They aren’t related, in any way, to any of these other animals they look like though. In fact, as stated in the Animal Facts Encyclopedia, the aardvark is considered a part of its own order, family, and species, occupying its own branch of the animal classification tree.
Aardvarks, like many college students, tend to sleep all day and they furiously do what they need to survive in the cover of nighttime’s darkness. They sleep in underground burrows dug out with their strong claws. Once darkness falls, they’ll appear to search for some insects or bugs to eat- preferably, and nearly exclusively, termites (and ants!) which they will slurp up with a shockingly long tongue.
By nature, aardvarks are solitary beings and will meet up with the opposite sex yearly for a short period of romping around and foraging together before they will again part. The female usually gives birth to only one cub, rarely two, which will mature with her for a time before eventually leaving.
In recent aardvark news, a zoo in Poland saw the eventful birth of a new cub, Mrównik on February 2. After a long birthing of 23 hours, the newborn wasn’t breathing. However, staff member Andrzej Miozga began resuscitation for nearly an hour before the young aardvark came to and survived. Following such an exhaustive birth though, the mother had not adopted the cub so a team of workers are acting as his mother with attentive care and feedings every two hours.
Since aardvarks aren’t common in zoos, it’s no wonder they have slipped through the cracks of animal recognition, and with long noses, shovel-like claws, and wrinkly skins they struggle to stack up to the awe factor of puppies or pandas, but this is their week so take a minute to appreciate the termite-slurping little buggers before they go another year without the respect they so deserve.
