Ever heard of an aardwolf? If the answer is no then prepare yourself for the most adorable animal you never even knew existed.

These wild animals come from the same family as the hyena, which explains why they look so similar, but unlike their bone-chomping cousins, aardwolves prefer to munch on termites, much like an aardvark (the word “aard” actually comes from the Dutch word “aarde” by the way, which means earth).

They’re native to East and Southern Africa, where they live in underground burrows. These unique animals often don’t dig the holes themselves, however, preferring to inhabit abandoned burrows of other animals. They’re shy and nocturnal creatures, although during the winter they’ll conserve energy by sleeping at night and feeding during the day. These cute animals have long sticky tongues which they use to lap up thousands of termites. A single aardwolf can eat up to 300,000 termites per night! An adult aardwolf grows to roughly the same size as a fox, and being monogamous creatures, they stay with the same mate for their entire lifetime. Did we also mention these interesting animals were super cute? Well, they are. Scroll down to see these unusual animals for yourself.

This little critter is a baby aardwolf

Image credits: arkive

The adults are just as cute as the babies

Image credits: Unknown

Aardwolves come from the same family as the hyena, but these guys have mohawks!

Image credits: Unknown

Unlike their bone-chomping cousins, aardwolves prefer to munch on termites

Image credits: Hennie van Heerden

They’re nocturnal creatures and they live in underground burrows  in East and Southern Africa

Image credits: Unknown

Scientists once thought they were solitary creatures, but actually they’re very family oriented

Image credits: Ohange Namibia Lodge

They often don’t dig the holes themselves however, preferring to inhabit abandoned burrows of other animals

Image credits: Daryl Balfour

They have long sticky tongues which they use to lap up thousands of termites

Image credits: Nigel J Dennis

A single aardwolf can eat up to 300,000 termites per night!

Image credits: Cincinnati zoo

An adult grows to roughly the same size as a fox

Image credits: Animals-Safaris

Being monogamous creatures, they stay with the same mate for their entire lifetime

Image credits: Gerard Lacz

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