Talk:Aardwolf

Hyena or not?
The article says "unlike true hyenias" does this mean the aardwolf is not a hyena but just looks like one or is it an actual speices of hyena that specializes in eating ants 4.142.96.98 23:24, 14 September 2007 (UTC)eric
 * "True hyena" is probably Hyaena. Editor abcdef (talk) 08:46, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Can't dig, but can burrow??
The article says that the Aardwolf burrows into the ground... and that it cannot dig. Any experts care to clear this up?Iroll 01:55, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

Alternate/Common names
The following where removed from the list of alternate common names.

Earth Pig - An 'Earth Pig' is the literal translation of the Dutch/Afrikaans name for the Aardvark similar but not the same.

Tamanoir - this name refers to new world ant eaters

On second thoughts. I have removing the list of 'common' names as I cannot find any credibly source that refers to them. The line was: "Other common names are: Ant Bear, African Ant Bear, Anteater, Cape Anteater."

The list of common names may have been removed, but I was still redirected to this article when I searched on "antbear", which I thought was another name for the aardvark, not the aardwolf. As there is now no reference within the article to "antbear", it does not seem good form to redirect "antbear" to this article, especially if an antbear is in fact an aardvark. Kabechoro 01:36, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Proposed Change
"Unlike other hyenas, it does not scavenge or kill larger animals because of its weak jaw and small size."

This pretends that an animal does not do something because of certain characteristics it has, rather than that it's simply specialized in eating insects, and thus does not kill larger animals.

It's a very common mistake, that also goes the way of the Giraffe (Giraffes have long necks because they stretch them a lot?)

Better would be to simply state it does not do these things. And that it has a weak jaw and small size. There is absolutely no relation between these two in this species.

82.74.30.171

Also, the introduction seems to contradict the statement that it does not scavenge large animals by saying that "Their diet nearly always consists of termites, insect larvae, and the **carrion of larger animals**. 66.142.122.226 (talk) 14:26, 1 December 2012 (UTC) -

Does anybody know if the two subspecies look even slightly different? I understand that they are geographically separate - wouldn't this lead to differences evolving? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.41.246.28 (talk) 16:57, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Nope. No reason to think it would, either. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.122.63.142 (talk) 15:28, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Update to match MSW3
I will be updating all of the hyena aritcles to match the following taxonomy from Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed, 2005):


 * Family Hyaenidae
 * Genus Crocuta
 * Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
 * Genus Hyaena
 * Brown Hyena (Hyaena brunnea)
 * Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena)
 * Genus Proteles
 * Aardwolf (Proteles cristata)

If you need to discuss this, pleae contact me on my talk page. If no one objects, I will proceed in 48 hours. - UtherSRG (talk) 23:04, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

Eats carrion.....doesnt scavenge? Which is it ?
This article is full of errors. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.241.29.63 (talk) 01:57, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

"Protelid"
The article identified "protelid" as another name for the aardwolf, but this was wrong. "Protelid" means a member of family Protelidae, in the same way as words like canid, felid, viverrid, etc are formed. Also Protelidae was not, as previously claimed in the article, monotypic. For example, the IUCN Hyaena Specialist Group shows a phylogeny identifying two species within genus Proteles.

It seems that parts of this lead section have found their way verbatim into various touristic and derivative web sites and even at least one book. Are we helping to spread an urban myth here?

I've removed the "protelid" name and the "monotypic" claim. If reverting, scholarly citations might be a good idea. --Stfg (talk) 15:46, 11 July 2010 (UTC)

ardwolf — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.59.107.209 (talk) 17:22, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

Eats 300000 termites a night?
Even at 1 gm per termite (the mass of a typical ant), that's twice the mass of what an elephant eats per day! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.245.160.8 (talk) 20:12, 24 April 2014 (UTC)
 * At this point, I am not agreeing nor disagreeing with you, only stating that if you doubt, question, or want to have a fact proven (with citations), which I notice this one does not seem to have, then the best way would be to throw a, or similar template up. speednat (talk) 20:45, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

Unrelated to the main wiki page
Nothing wrong with it. It is actually well-updated with its info.

Some wikis on Aardwolf in other languages show incomplete or different info though. Is it usually how it goes for other articles too?


 * Only an article that is a direct translation of another article will be likely to replicate the material precisely. Wikimedia does not insist that its articles in various languages align their content. Maybe some day. Wikidata is a project which has the potential to align articles between languages.--Quisqualis (talk) 02:10, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

Some of the old images depicting Aardwolf skeletal structure...
I know they are recently replaced by a slightly more detailed view of aardwolf skull and skeleton. It is accurate certainly, but otherwise a hand-drawn/computer-generated depiction... I think real-life examples (like the ones recently removed) of the same are just as valuable... 43.227.21.194 (talk) 09:13, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

Information on dentition...
Current: "The teeth and skull are similar to those of other hyenas, though smaller..."

Sliwa actually described in detail its dentition and other features in his report: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35640520_A_functional_analysis_of_scent_marking_and_mating_behaviour_in_the_aardwolf_Proteles_cristatus_Sparrman_1783 (On page 6, under "General Characters")

I mention this because aardwolf dentition is reasonably quite different from other hyenas. "Whereas hyaenas have a powerful dentition and strong sagittal crest to crush large bones, the aardwolf has a slender skull and the cheek teeth are reduced to small, widely spaced, redundant pegs." It also mentions strong jaw muscles and sharp canines, which seem like traits found in most carnivorans, not just hyenas. 59.88.29.80 (talk) 14:42, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

Some names differ in some regions
In some Arab countries, it is called Asbar, Asbara, Asbur, or Osbour In some Arab countries, such as Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti 5.255.18.110 (talk) 17:58, 22 November 2022 (UTC)

Population
What is the population of an aardwolf? 2405:6E00:68A:B2A:C034:824A:2E56:BA0A (talk) 10:52, 13 February 2023 (UTC)

Just one small addition...
I think the following fact should be mentioned on this page in some way (either in "Behaviour and Ecology" or "Breeding"):

"Due to the pairs’ territoriality aardwolf males do not maintain a social dominance hierarchy. Male quality is advertised to their neighbours by means of scent marking and in fights over mating rights by scramble competition between males."

This is mentioned verbatim in the citiation, "Sliwa, A. (1996). A functional analysis of scent marking and mating behaviour in the aardwolf Proteles cristatus" on page 122.

I say this because the usage of the term "dominant" and "weaker" to refer to males during breeding may create the illusion that this species follows a well-defined dominance hierarchy (like in spotted hyenas), when that really isn't the case for this species. In the context of aardwolf (and several other animals), "dominant" simply seems to mean "more sexually active and better at defending one's territory/mate than others". 59.184.215.156 (talk) 13:42, 17 January 2024 (UTC)

Regarding breeding...
If breeding starts early July, and gestation lasts for 89-92 days which is almost exactly 3 months, shouldn't births usually take place in October? (and not Nov-Dec as mentioned in the article) 59.88.161.225 (talk) 22:40, 11 February 2024 (UTC)