Most hyenas have powerful jaws and strong teeth, but the aardwolf's teeth are small, weak, and cone-shaped. It feeds chiefly on termites, which it laps up with its broad, sticky tongue. The aardwolf is unlike other hyenas because it has five toes on its front feet, and four toes on its hind feet. Other kinds of hyenas have four toes on each foot.
Aardwolves live alone, in pairs, or in family groups with two to four young.
The aardwolf has a mane along the back. It can raise the mane to make itself look larger. It also growls or roars when frightened. The name aardwolf, which is Afrikaans for earth wolf, was given the animal because it lives in a burrow in the ground. Aardwolves only come out at night and so are seldom seen.