Actually, this diminutive animal is the smallest (only 55 to 80cm or 22 to 31 inches long, excluding its bushy tail, and weighs 7-10 kg!), and most harmless hyena and doesn’t eat small animals as they’ve often been blamed for doing. This is a rather lovely little creature in looks and behaviour, and another grossly misunderstood one at that.

We can understand them being blamed for killing a lamb, or similar, because the farmer may find their precious livestock’s carcass scavenged upon by aardwolves and bat-eared foxes. And they are automatically blamed for the livestock’s untimely death. However, we need to have patience and not make rash and brutal decisions.



If you watch, or if possible, look closer (like using binoculars) you’ll notice these two ‘carnivores’ snuffling through folds of meat, bone and tissue are actually seeking the insects crawling between them and eating them. You see, these ‘killers’ aren’t at all carnivores. These are insectivores, and the good news doesn’t end there, either.

These two species help the farmer as they favour termites, more so the shy little aardwolf. Termites are responsible for destroying many buildings, like feed rooms, dwellings and so on. In only one night, a nocturnal aardwolf with its sticky tongue can lap up, quite easily, about 250 thousand termites! Natural predators are highly efficient pest controllers and will never release toxins, or hazardous, substances into the air, land or water and... they’re absolutely free!

What pest controller can claim to do that?