Aardvark
Contents
Key Stage 1
Meaning
File:Aardvark1.png
A picture of an aardvark.
An aardvark is a medium-sized animal with 4 legs and a long pig-like snout.
About Aardvarks
- The nose and the mouth of an aardvark are at the end of its snout.
- The aardvark is nocturnal, which means it will only come out at night.
Examples
This is a picture of an aardvark. | This is a picture of an aardvark. |
Key Stage 2
Meaning
An aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing mammal with 4 legs and a long pig-like snout.
About Aardvarks
- As a mammal aardvarks:
- Aardvarks live in Africa, and are found in bushland, woodland, grassland and savanna habitat.
- The aardvark is nocturnal, which means it will only come out at night.
- Aardvarks dig and live in burrows.
- A young aardvark is called a cub.
An aardvark's skeleton showing its backbone. |
Lifecyle of an Aardvark
Foetus | Young | Adult |
An aardvark starts its life inside the mother getting its food through the umbilical cord. | When an aardvark has been born it cannot eat so it gets milk from its mother to survive. This is a young aardvark cub. | An adult aardvark is mature and can have it's own offspring. |
Adaptations of Aardvarks
Adaptation | Purpose |
A pig-like snout | To help the aardvark sniff out its food: ants and termites. |
Sharp claws | To dig up ants and termites for food, and so it can dig burrows to live and sleep in. |
Powerful legs | To help with digging up food and burrowing. |
Key Stage 3
Meaning
An aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing mammal with 4 legs and a long pig-like snout.
About Aardvarks
- As a mammal aardvarks:
- Are vertebrates
- Feed their offspring with milk.
- Give birth to live young.
- Keep a constant internal temperature.
Adaptations of Aardvarks
Adaptation | Purpose |
A pig-like snout | To help the aardvark sniff out its food: ants and termites. |
Sharp claws | To dig up ants and termites for food, and so it can dig burrows to live and sleep in. |
Powerful legs | To help with digging up food and burrowing. |