Day 4 cont
Professor Abraham
After I had finished giving them a lecture about the rhīnós, I checked my watch to see if it's time for us to head back.
Surprisingly, it's just to let you know, and we were supposed to be heading back to the camp site by four.
"Well, I see we have enough time to look at another animal wonder and take a look at it," I say.
All the students groaned. I know it's really hot today, as I'm also sweating, even on my feet.
But he has to teach them about what they came here to learn; otherwise, it would only be a vacation and now a field trip.
From the looks of the sun today, there's a possibility that there will be a heavy rain tonight, and if that's the case, they might have a day off tomorrow as we were planning to check on the river sites.
"Come on, don't you want the feeling of nature?" I ask.
They all grunted their heads.
Just then, one of the instructors walked over to me, and lucky for us, he brought a little something with him.
"Well, you are in luck; they have brought a little something for you," I say, collecting the case.
Some of the students moved closer to see it while others run away, as if they were scared or something.
"Come on, it's just an aardvark" I say, laughing at them.
I know most of them don't know about it.
"Ok, let's make a deal, we'll discuss about this little wonder and we'll be on our way" I say.
Most of the students seem to cheer up at that.
"But don't come near it, okay, or you'll scare it off," I say.
When I was convinced they were at a safe distance, I started.
"The aardvark, scientifically known as Orycteropus afer, is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa, as you can see, and it is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known," I begin.
"Unlike most other insectivores, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food, just as you can see," I point out to them.
"It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky, and it is said to be 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," I say.
"The animal is also listed as the least concern by the IUCN, although its numbers are decreasing." 
"Aardvarks are afrotheres, a clade that also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes," I say.
Just then, another student raised her hand.
"Yes, what is it?" I ask.
"What is afrothere?" she asks.
"It is a clade of mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin," I answer.
She nodded in understanding.
"The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the African ant bear," I continue.
"The name aardvark is Afrikaans and comes from earlier Afrikaans erdvark and means earth pig or ground pig because of its burrowing habits," I say. 
"And the name Orycteropus means burrowing foot, and the name Afer refers to Africa." I try to explain the origin of the scientific name.
"The name of the aardvark's order, Tubulidentata, comes from the tubule-style teeth," I say.
"The aardvark is not closely related to the pig; rather, it is the sole extant representative of the obscure mammalian order Tubulidentata, in which it is usually considered to form one variable species of the genus Orycteropus, the sole surviving genus in the family Orycteropodidae," I continue. 
"The aardvark is not closely related to the South American anteater, despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial resemblance, but the similarities are based on convergent evolution," I say.
The poor thing kept on trying to scratch its way out of the cage.
Don't worry; we'll let you be as soon as we are done. 
"The closest living relatives of the aardvark are the elephant shrews, tenrecs, and golden moles; along with the sirenians, hyraxes, elephants, and their extinct relatives, these animals form the superorder Afrotheria," I say. 
"Studies of the brain have shown the similarities with Condylarthra, and given the clade's status as a wastebasket taxon, it may mean some species traditionally classified as condylarths are actually stem-aardvarks," I say.
"Now, to the appearance of the little thing, I'm sure you can see it from here; the aardvark is vaguely pig-like in appearance, and its body is stout with a prominently arched back and is sparsely covered with coarse hairs," I say, showing them the animal in the cage. 
"The limbs are of moderate length, with the rear legs being longer than the forelegs; the front feet have lost the pollex, or 'thumb, resulting in four toes, while the rear feet have all five toes," I say, trying as much as possible to show them, but the animal keeps on hiding.
"Each toe bears a large, robust nail that is somewhat flattened and shovel-like and appears to be intermediate between a claw and a hoof," I continue. 
"Whereas the aardvark is considered digitigrade, it appears at times to be plantigrade, and this confusion happens because when it squats, it stands on its soles," I explain. 
"A contributing characteristic to the burrow digging capabilities of aardvarks is an endosteal tissue called compacted coarse cancellous bone, or, in short, CCCB," I say.
"The stress and strain resistance provided by CCCB allows aardvarks to create their burrows, ultimately leading to a favorable environment for plants and a variety of animals."
'An aardvark's weight is typically between 60 and 80 kilograms, and an aardvark's length is usually between 105 and 130 centimeters. It can reach lengths of 2.2 meters when its tail, which can be up to 70 centimeters, is taken into account," I say. 
"This one is probably young, as it is not that tall," I say, showing them its length.
We could have measured it as well, but I don't want it to escape, so we'll just manage.
"It is 60 centimeters tall at the shoulder, has a girth of about 100 centimeters, and is the largest member of the proposed clade Afroinsectiphilia," I continue.
"The aardvark is pale yellowish-gray in color and often stained reddish-brown by soil, like this," I pointed out to them. 
"The aardvark's coat is thin, and the animal's primary protection is its tough skin, and its hair is short on its head and tail; however, its legs tend to have longer hair, and the hair on the majority of its body is grouped in clusters of 3–4 hairs." I pause to take a deep breath.
"The hair surrounding its nostrils is dense to help filter particulate matter out as it digs, and its tail is very thick at the base and gradually tapers." I also try to show them.
"Now, I'll try to elaborate more on the physical features," I say.
"We'll be starting with the head," I say.
"The greatly elongated head is set on a short, thick neck, and the end of the snout bears a disc, which houses the nostril and contains a thin but complete zygomatic arch."
"The head of the aardvark contains many unique and different features, and one of the most distinctive characteristics of the Tubulidentata is their teeth. Instead of having a pulp cavity, each tooth has a cluster of thin, hexagonal, upright, parallel tubes of vasodentin, which is a modified form of dentine, with individual pulp canals held together by cementum," I say.
"The number of columns is dependent on the size of the tooth, with the largest having about 1,500."
"The teeth have no enamel coating and are worn away and regrow continuously, and the aardvark is born with conventional incisors and canines at the front of the jaw, which fall out and are not replaced. Adult aardvarks have only cheek teeth at the back of the jaw and have a dental formula of 0.0.2–3.3 0.0.2.3," I say.
'These remaining teeth are peg-like and rootless and are of unique composition; the teeth consist of 14 upper and 12 lower jaw molars."
'The nasal area of the aardvark is another unique area, as it contains ten nasal conchae, more than any other placental mammal," I say.
"The sides of the nostrils are thick with hair, and the tip of the snout is highly mobile and is moved by modified mimetic muscles, while the fleshy dividing tissue between its nostrils probably has sensory functions, but it is uncertain whether they are olfactory or vibratory in nature."
"Its nose is made up of more turbinate bones than any other mammal, with between 9 and 11, compared to dogs with 4 to 5. With a large quantity of turbinate bones, the aardvark has more space for the moist epithelium, which is the location of the olfactory bulb."
"The nose contains nine olfactory bulbs, more than any other mammal, and its keen sense of smell comes not just from the quantity of bulbs in the nose but also from the development of the brain, as its olfactory lobe is very developed."
"The snout resembles an elongated pig snout, and the mouth is small and tubular, typical of species that feed on ants and termites," I say.
I was saying all these things while trying to show them the features of the animal.
'The aardvark has a long, thin, snakelike, protruding tongue (as much as 30 centimeters long) and elaborate structures supporting a keen sense of smell," I continue.
"The ears, which are very effective, are disproportionately long, about 20–25 centimeters long, and the eyes are small for its head and consist only of rods."
"Aardvarks are found in sub-Saharan Africa, like I told you earlier, where suitable habitat like savannas, grasslands, woodlands, and bushland and foods such as ants and termites are available."
"They spend the daylight hours in dark burrows to avoid the heat of the day, so let's say we are quite lucky to have found this one then," I say. 
"The only major habitat that they are not present in is swamp forest, as the high water table precludes digging to a sufficient depth, and they also avoid terrain that is rocky enough to cause problems with digging."
"They have been documented as high as 3,200 meters in Ethiopia, and they are present throughout sub-Saharan Africa all the way to South Africa, with a few exceptions, including the coastal areas of Namibia, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. They are not found in Madagascar," I add.
"Aardvarks live for up to 23 years in captivity, and their keen hearing warns them of predators: lions, leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, hyenas, and pythons. Some humans also hunt aardvarks for meat," I say. 
"Aardvarks can dig fast or run in zigzag fashion to elude enemies, but if all else fails, they will strike with their claws, tails, and shoulders, sometimes flipping onto their backs, lying motionless except to lash out with all four feet, and they are capable of causing substantial damage to the unprotected areas of an attacker. They will also dig to escape as they can; sometimes, when pressed, aardvarks can dig extremely quickly," I say.
"Now, according to their feeding habit," I pause to adjust the microphone.
"The aardvark is nocturnal and is a solitary creature that feeds almost exclusively on ants and termites, a behavior known as myrmecophagy. The only fruit eaten by aardvarks is the aardvark cucumber; in fact, the cucumber and the aardvark have a symbiotic relationship as they eat the subterranean fruit, then defecate the seeds near their burrows, which then grow rapidly due to the loose soil and fertile nature of the area."
"The time spent in the intestine of the aardvark helps the fertility of the seed, and the fruit provides needed moisture for the aardvark, and they avoid eating the African driver ant and red ants."
"Due to their stringent diet requirements, they require a large range to survive."
"An aardvark emerges from its burrow in the late afternoon or shortly after sunset and forages over a considerable home range encompassing 10 to 30 kilometers. While foraging for food, the aardvark will keep its nose to the ground and its ears pointed forward, which indicates that both smell and hearing are involved in the search for food."
"They also zig-zag as they forage and will usually not repeat a route for 5 to 8 days as they appear to allow time for the termite nests to recover before feeding on it again."