An aardvark digs burrows faster than most other animals. It can make a deep hole in only a few minutes. Although the aardvark does not have good eyesight, it uses its excellent senses of smell and hearing to find prey. When an aardvark searches for food, its snout stays close to the ground and its ears point forward. The animal uses its claws to rip open ant or termite nests, and it licks up the insects with its long, sticky tongue.
Female aardvarks give birth to one baby at the start of the rainy season.
Young aardvarks start digging burrows at about 6 months of age. After about a year, young male offspring move away from their mothers. Young females also become independent, but they remain near their mothers. The aardvark is the only living member of the order Tubulidentata. Its scientific name is Orycteropus afer.