It is hard to guess what a Aardvark weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) on average weights 56.85 kg (125.33 lbs).
The Aardvark is from the family Orycteropodidae (genus: Orycteropus). It is usually born with about 1.9 kg (4.19 lbs). They can live for up to 24 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 1.26 meter (4′ 2″). On average, Aardvarks can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 1.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The aardvark ( ARD-vark; Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike other insectivores, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food. It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. A nocturnal feeder, it subsists on ants and termites, which it will dig out of their hills using its sharp claws and powerful legs. It also digs to create burrows in which to live and rear its young. It receives a “least concern” rating from the IUCN, although its numbers seem to be decreasing.Aardvarks are afrotheres, a clade which also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes.
Animals with the same weight as a Aardvark
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Orycteropus afer:
- Celebes warty pig with a weight of 53.46 kilos (117.86 lbs)
- Javan rusa with a weight of 65.8 kilos (145.06 lbs)
- South American fur seal with a weight of 68.14 kilos (150.22 lbs)
- Spectacled porpoise with a weight of 65 kilos (143.3 lbs)
- Bornean orangutan with a weight of 52.97 kilos (116.78 lbs)
- Australophocaena dioptrica with a weight of 65 kilos (143.3 lbs)
- Burmeister’s porpoise with a weight of 60 kilos (132.28 lbs)
- Hector’s dolphin with a weight of 50 kilos (110.23 lbs)
- Goat with a weight of 47.14 kilos (103.93 lbs)
- Grant’s gazelle with a weight of 55.46 kilos (122.27 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Aardvark
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Aardvark:
- Snow leopard with a size of 1.15 meter (3′ 10″)
- Philippine warty pig with a size of 1.35 meter (4′ 6″)
- Yellow-backed duiker with a size of 1.32 meter (4′ 5″)
- Dall sheep with a size of 1.42 meter (4′ 8″)
- Guanaco with a size of 1.47 meter (4′ 11″)
- Leopard with a size of 1.38 meter (4′ 7″)
- Barbary sheep with a size of 1.45 meter (4′ 10″)
- Galápagos fur seal with a size of 1.36 meter (4′ 6″)
- Capybara with a size of 1.21 meter (4′ 0″)
- Soemmerring’s gazelle with a size of 1.36 meter (4′ 6″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Aardvark
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Aardvark:
- Lappet-eared free-tailed bat
- Chinese pangolin
- Whiskered flying squirrel
- Climbing shrew
- Kloss’s gibbon
- Queen of Sheba’s gazelle
- Mediterranean monk seal
- Long-tailed fruit bat
- Fulvus roundleaf bat
- Springbok
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Aardvark
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Aardvark:
- Eld’s deer with an average maximal age of 19.33 years
- Gayal with an average maximal age of 26.17 years
- Moustached guenon with an average maximal age of 23 years
- Bald uakari with an average maximal age of 27 years
- Sumatran serow with an average maximal age of 21 years
- Subantarctic fur seal with an average maximal age of 23 years
- White-lipped peccary with an average maximal age of 21 years
- Sitatunga with an average maximal age of 21.5 years
- Sunda slow loris with an average maximal age of 26.5 years
- White-tailed deer with an average maximal age of 23 years