Aardwolf - Aardwolf (English spelling)

An animal of the Mammalia class, Order Carnivora, Family Hyena. Also called the Aardwolf. It lives alone or in pairs in holes in the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa. It is similar to the Striped Hyena but is much smaller, with a pointed snout, a thick, tufted tail, and five fingers on its front paws and four on its hind paws. It has vestigial molars and a long tongue. It feeds mainly on termites, but also on other insects, bird eggs, and lizards. It is 65-80 cm long, 20-30 cm long, and 45-50 cm high at the shoulders. It has a mane of long hair on its neck and back, which it bristles to make itself look larger and intimidate its enemies. Its body is pale yellow to reddish brown, with several black horizontal stripes on its torso. It is nocturnal. Each litter contains 2 to 4 babies, and the parents regurgitate partially digested termites to feed to their weaning babies.

[Yoshinori Imaizumi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

哺乳(ほにゅう)綱食肉目ハイエナ科の動物。アードウルフともいう。アフリカの東部と南部の草原に、単独か一対で穴居する。シマハイエナに似るがずっと小さく、吻(ふん)がとがり、尾が太く房状、指は前足に5本、後ろ足に4本ある。臼歯(きゅうし)が痕跡(こんせき)的で舌が長く、シロアリを主食とするが、他の昆虫、鳥の卵、トカゲなども食べる。体長65～80センチメートル、尾長20～30センチメートル、肩高45～50センチメートル、頸(くび)筋と背筋に長い毛のたてがみがあり、これを逆立て、体を大きくみせて敵を威嚇する。体は淡黄色から赤褐色、胴に数本の黒い横縞(よこじま)がある。夜行性。1腹2～4子、両親はなかば消化したシロアリを吐き出して離乳時の子に食べさせる。

［今泉吉典］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例