Welcome to Fast Facts with Reasons for Hope! I’m Carl Kerby and, today, we’re going to talk about an animal that looks like a pig, has ears like a rabbit, has a tongue like a snake, has a tail like a kangaroo, but isn’t related to any of those animals!
Does anybody know what it is? That’s right! We’re going to be talking about the aardvark – and not the Air Force’s supersonic, fighter-bomber, F-111 “Aardvark,” either. We’re going to be talking about the animal living throughout Africa, south of the Sahara.
This animal may look funny, but it’s amazingly designed.
The aardvark can live twenty-three years in captivity and can get quite large. From the tip of its tail to the tip of its pig-like snout, it can grow over 7 feet long, stand 2 feet tall at its shoulders, and weigh 110-180 pounds.
Its name comes from the Afrikaans language and means “earth or ground pig”; however, it’s also known by the names “antbear” and “Cape anteater.”
This animal really puts a hurtin’ on ants and termites, too, and will eat up to 50,000 insects a night! Wow! That’s a lot of bugs.
We’ll talk about another thing the aardvark likes to eat in the next Fast Facts with Reasons for Hope. Until then… stay bold!
Carl Kerby is the founder of Reasons for Hope and co-creator of the DeBunked apologetic video series. His radio feature, Fast Facts, is heard weekly on VCY America, Saturdays at 9:25 AM Central.
