Orycteropus afer
Silhouette: Pearson Scott Foresman · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. The aardvark is the only living member of the genus Orycteropus, the family Orycteropodidae and the order Tubulidentata. The aardvark is an afrotherian, a clade that also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes.
It is found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. A nocturnal feeder, the aardvark subsists on ants and termites (myrmecophagy) by using its sharp claws and powerful legs to dig the insects out of their hills, and its long snout to sniff out food. It digs a burrow in which to live and rear its young.
The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the "African ant bear", "anteater" (not to be confused with the South American anteaters), or the "Cape anteater". The name aardvark is Afrikaans (pronounced [ˈɑːrtfark]) and comes from earlier Afrikaans erdvark. It means 'earth pig' or 'ground pig' (aarde: 'earth', vark: 'pig, young pig'), because of its burrowing habits.
The name Orycteropus means 'burrowing foot', and the name afer refers to Africa. The name of the aardvark's order... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 4 | Olomouc Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 5 | Zoo de Doué | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Kansas City Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Chester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 11 | Detroit Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Colchester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 13 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Wrocław Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 15 | Memphis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 17 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Honolulu Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 20 | Зоопарк ХІІ Місяців | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 21 | Faunia | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 22 | Minsk Zoo | 🇧🇾 Belarus | |
| 23 | Lincoln Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 24 | Turtle Back Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Valencia Bioparc | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 26 | Zoologischer Garten Halle | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 27 | Henry Vilas Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 28 | Sacramento Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 29 | Papiliorama | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 30 | Africarium | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 31 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 32 | Sobela Ocean Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 33 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 34 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 35 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 36 | terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 37 | Дэльфінарый | 🇧🇾 Belarus |
No species of the same family or order lives in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Aardvark sighting in Odzala-Kokoua National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 28th most-seen of the 32 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Aardvark in Odzala-Kokoua National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–April, June–August, October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Odzala-Kokoua National Park's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against 50 mm in January.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Aardvark sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Odzala-Kokoua National Park, in our data
Odzala-Kokoua National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Aardvark sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Aardvark is recorded against all the mammals logged in Odzala-Kokoua National Park (5 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
