Public domain image from Webster's Dictionary, 1911. full size image

The Aardwolf is a small mammal related to the Hyena. The name literally means "earth wolf". Its scientific name is Proteles cristatus and it inhabits the drier regions of southern Africa.

The aardwolf looks like a small striped hyena, but with a more pointed muzzle, sharper ears, and a long mane down the middle line of the neck and back.

The aardwolf is nocturnal. It lives in the ground, burrowing its own holes. It is an insectivore that eats ants almost exclusively, but farmers still kill it because they think it is a carnivore

See also: Hyaenidae.