Cute but Strange: Aardvarks are the Wrinkly Prehistoric Babies You Never Knew You Needed

If you ever watched Arthur as a kid, you might have a very skewed idea of what an aardvark is supposed to look like. There are several inaccuracies to his character design, the main one being, well…Arthur doesn't really look anything like an aardvark. But that's okay, because this week is International Aardvark Week, which means it's the perfect chance for us to bring you some fun facts and photos of actual aardvarks! As it turns out, they are kind of wrinkly and strange looking, but they're also adorable in their own special way.

Aardvarks are the only surviving species of the order tubulidentata, so named for their very unique teeth. The only other species that have been discovered of that order are prehistoric! So the aardvark is kind of like a living time capsule. They eat mostly ants and termites, and while they're often confused with anteaters, they aren't closely related. Check out below our collection of fun facts and funny pics of these wrinkly prehistoric animals!

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Ecosystem Engineers

Aardvarks live in hot, dry desert climates and there they are "ecosystem engineers". They dig large burrows underground where they can get away from the hot sun and better regulate their body temperature--but their burrows benefit the whole ecosystem. Other animals like warthogs, meerkats and porcupines are known to use their burrows too for shelter in the heat of summer and the cold of winter!

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The Challenge of Drought

Unfortunately, aardvarks, like many animals, are beginning to feel the effects of climate change on their homes. For example, according to Scientific American, one common home is the Kalahari desert in southern Africa where climate change is creating drought and heat waves. The aardvark has trouble regulating its body temperature, which makes the heat a big problem for it. The heat waves and drought also kill off many types of bugs during summer, which are the aardvark's main source of food.

Via Scientific American
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Aardvark Named Dobby

Not all the news is bad: at Chester Zoo in England an adorable baby aardvark was born and named Dobby after the house elf in Harry Potter! The zookeepers saw the resemblance to the house elf right away. They're taking good care of Dobby as the baby grows and helping out the mother by feeding the baby extra supplements so it gets big and strong!

Via People
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Mother and Baby

Dobby's favorite thing is cuddling up with Mom, Oni! The zoo hasn't found out the sex of the baby yet, but they are proud to say caring for Dobby and the other aardvarks at the zoo helps them learn about the species, their way of life, and how to help them thrive. Chester Zoo is one of many "conservation zoos", where the information zookeepers learn about their animals helps efforts to preserve their numbers in the wild.

Via People
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Curly Tongue

Via Little Things
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Baby Aardvark

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Yummy Pumpkin

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Aardvarks Have Teeth

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Sleeping Aardvark

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Closing their Nostrils

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Small Enough to Hold

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Sleeping Aardvark

Via Pinterest
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Baby Bottle

Via Little Things