Secret Creatures: Africa's earth pig, the Aardvark.

It is several hours after sunset. Countless stars dot the wide black African sky, and in the darkness, a strange sound emanates from beneath the earth.

The scrabbling sound from underground gets louder as the loose soil is pushed aside from the entrance of the tunnel. This is the home of an aardvark or antbear. It emerges extremely cautiously, sniffing the air extensively while its long tubular ears swivel about, trying to detect any sounds of danger nearby.

Satisfied at last that it is alone, the aardvark sets off on the night's forage. It meanders about, its long pig-like snout continuously snuffling loudly along the ground. Before long, its acute sense of smell locates an ant nest. With its powerful forelimbs and strong claws, the aardvark quickly digs into the soil and sticks its snout into the resulting hole, sniffing hungrily. It licks up the ants deep in the nest with its long sticky tongue, which it can extend 30cm from its mouth.

Later in the night, the aardvark is excavating yet another tunnel. Apart from digging for food, the aardvark also excavated burrows as a temporary refuge. Heaps of soil appears from the opening as the bushveld's underground architect is hard at work. When the Aardvark is finished with these burrows, it abandons them and they become homes for most of the Secret Seven and others who are unable to dig a safe hidey-hole for themselves.

Tunnelling is also a vital defence for the aardvark itself. The burrow provides a safe refuge for it during the day, as it closes up the entrance with soil, leaving only a very small gap for ventilation.

The aardvark can also take refuge underground in a hurry if it needs to ... as we soon discover when a hopeful lion tries to sneak up on it. But the aardvark's extremely sensitive hearing warns it in plenty of time and it begins to dig so quickly that it is impossible for even a desperately hungry predator to dig it out. In moments, the aardvark has disappeared into the bowels of the earth, safely out of reach.

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Видео Secret Creatures: Africa's earth pig, the Aardvark. канала Lion Mountain TV