Proteles Christata

     Also known as an aardwolf, this proteles christata is a little known cousin of the famous hyena. Hyena's are large, aggressive animals capable of taking on wilderbeasts and zebras, while the aardwolf is much smaller and depends on it's coloring and overall appearance to scare away predators. Both animals are placed in the Hyaenidae family, althoug the aardwolf is alone in the subfamily protelidae.
      The most interesting aspect of the aarwolf is that it feeds primarily on termites, with a few larvae and carrion in the mix. The 'aard' part of it's common name is taken from aardvark, on account of it's unusual diet. Aarwolves are nocturnal and 'hunt' at night, eating up to 200,000 termites per night. When hunting, the aardwolf takes special care not to destroy the termite mounds he eats from, ensuring that they will repopulate it, and thus ensuring a continual supply of food for the aardwolf.
      The aardwolf is usually found in brushland, or savannahs and has been reported to live on sparsely populated farmland. Most farmers treat them as useful, harmless animals, but it has been killed for it's fur. These animals live in dens hidden by bushes, and live in packs most like those of wolves. Aarwolves mate for life and often raise their children in dens that their parents used, though they tend to change dens every six weeks when not raising young aarwolves. Aarwolves are solitary when they hunt, creating the illusion that they are solitary 'lone wolves'.
   
     This animal caught my attention earlier today when I was googling random animals. It's odd how close it is to a hyena, yet how very different. My guess is that they have addapted to look like hyenas because of the hyena's reputation with other animals. Kind of like dressing like a big bad biker guy to scare away potential scam artists or pickpockets. I like this animal a lot, even though I've only read about and seen it. It just reminds me of a sweet, mini version of a wolf or a hyena, and I find myself automatically connecting with it. I usually blog about animals that are threatened with extinction, but this animal is totally free from the after effects of deforestation and other usual causes of indangerment. (Except for, of course, the threat of pesticides and poison on farms. Reminds me of peregrine falcons becoming endangered because of DDT.) I blogged about this animal purely because I wanted to, and to show people something they wouldn't see every day.