The timing of birth varies across Africa. Neonates weigh between 1.8 and 2 kg and are approximately 550 mm long. Young remain in the burrow for several weeks following birth before venturing out with the mother on nightly foraging trips. Young excavate their own burrows at 6 months old, though they remain in association with the mother until the following mating season. In soft earth, an aardvark can dig faster than several humans using shovels.
Aardvarks are nocturnal and sleep during the day curled in a tight circle in the burrow.
They are solitary and may be territorial. Males and females occupy separate burrows. Within its territory, an aardvark uses the same network of paths over an interval of about a week. While foraging, aardvarks cover a strip of ground about 30 m wide in a zig-zag path with the ears directed forward and the snout close to the ground, emitting snuffling sounds while searching for prey. Aardvarks feed by digging into termite or ant mounds with their powerful forelimbs and lapping up the residents with their sticky tongues, which can be thrust 250-300 mm out of the mouth.