Daytime sightings of aardvarks are slowly becoming common as global warming brings drought in the African area where these elusive animals live. This strange activity from the notoriously nocturnal aardvarks indicates a bigger problem that affects a diverse ecosystem.
These elusive mammals exclusively feed on termites and ants. They are busiest after sunset when they hunt for food. Their daytime activity suggests challenges in finding food in the drier parts of southern Africa.
Threats to Survival
While aardvarks are generally out of sight, the warming temperature drives them out of their natural routine. Over the past 50 years, temperatures in many conservation areas in South Africa have risen by 2°C.
A study reveals that aardvarks may be directly threatened by climate change. The increase in heat and aridity could potentially make them more diurnal as their energetic costs become compromised.
Aardvarks may also be indirectly affected by the rapid change in environmental conditions as climate change influences the availability of prey.
Researchers monitored the free-living aardvarks at Tswalu private reserve by attaching biologgers. These are minicomputers to record body temperature and their activities. They also have radio-tracking devices to locate the mammals. Gathered data reflects the relationship between aardvarks' behavioral changes and stressors present in their environment.
During periods of drought, aardvarks encounter significant difficulty in finding food. As a result, they struggle to maintain balance in their energy levels. Struggles to stay warm during cool nights also prompted them to be active during the day instead.
While aardvarks can normally regulate their body temperature between 35-37°C, their body temperature dropped to 30°C during the period of severe droughts in Kalahari.
Some aardvarks die of starvation during periods of long droughts when ants and termites are inaccessible. With the land bare and the grass scarce, aardvarks cannot meet their daily energy requirements. They shift to daytime food-hunting to reserve energy costs.
However, even after shifting to daytime activities, the energy reserve of some aardvarks remains insufficient. This is an alarming issue on the survival of this species. A female aardvark typically births to only one offspring each year.
READ ALSO: Animals Can Surprisingly Adapt to Increased Temperatures in Climate Change
A Dangerous Chain Reaction
Aardvarks are burrow-digging animals living throughout Africa. The large burrows created by these animals are important resources for other animals including mammals, reptiles, and even birds.
The underground burrows shelter other animals from extreme weather conditions and protect them from predators hunting them down. The holes aardvarks make even nests other animals' young.
The burrows serve as a microhabitat that provides lower maximum temperatures. Minimum temperatures and relative humidity are also significantly higher in these areas.
As the impact of global warming hits aardvarks, other animals that rely on them are also in danger of being exposed to fluctuating temperatures in the arid regions.
READ ALSO: Climate Change Threatens Cultural Landmarks and Heritage Sites in Africa
The Future of the Aardvarks
Although aardvarks are currently categorized as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the threat of disappearance is high in the drier parts of Africa, such as in Kalahari.
Researchers are calling for more extensive studies and appropriate mitigation measures to preserve vulnerable species that are affected by global warming. This may include water reserve management, connectivity of nature reserves in semi-arid regions, and reduction of emissions by man-made activities.
READ ALSO: Saving Siberian Tigers Through Vaccination
Check out more news and information on Climate Change on Nature World News.