Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Andrew Taylor Stefan Cilliers Leith Meyer Amy-Leigh Wilson
Reviewers: Thomas Lehmann Matthew Child

Rationale

Although widespread within the assessment region, Aardvarks are nowhere common. They occur at low densities (for example, a study in the Karoo estimated the density to be c. 8 animals / 10 km2). However, they are sometimes considered rare because of their elusive behaviour and not necessarily a result of low numbers. Further density estimates across their range are required to estimate population size. The reproductive rates of Aardvarks are low (maximum one offspring / year), which makes them vulnerable to disturbance. For example, the effects of the bushmeat and traditional medicine trade, as well as persecution for damaging fences and croplands, may cause local population declines and extinctions. As such, their numbers undoubtedly are reduced in areas where their habitat is altered by human activities or where there is high human density. Human settlements have expanded by 0.8% to 38% across all South African provinces between 2000 and 2013. Furthermore, evidence is amassing that climate change is causing population decline in some areas. Thus, long-term systematic monitoring of subpopulation trends is needed to assess the impact of these cumulative threats and this species should be reassessed when such data are available as it may qualify for the Near Threatened category in the future. The conversion from livestock to wildlife ranching may be counteracting habitat loss for this species and sustaining the ant and termite resources on which this species depends, but should be weighed against possible increases in persecution resulting from fence damage. Similarly, the effectiveness of interventions to reduce persecution, such as swing-gates and tyres, should be tested. Aardvarks might be a keystone species and ecosystem engineer in natural habitats as some species could rely on their burrows for increased survival. Thus the conservation of this species is important for wider biodiversity.

Regional population effects: Rescue effects are possible as much of their current habitat is connected to natural habitat outside of the assessment region, especially in the semi-arid regions. Their dispersal capacity is suspected to be good, seeing as they have been measured to cover 2.7–8.4 km per night when foraging (van Aarde et al. 1992; Taylor & Skinner 2003).

Distribution

The Aardvark is widely distributed south of the Sahara from Senegal to Ethiopia to South Africa, being absent from the Sahara and Namib Deserts. It is also present in the Congo Basin, although its distribution in West African rainforests is poorly known (Taylor 2013). In southern Africa, they are widespread in Namibia (except the Namib Desert), Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa (Skinner & Chimimba 2005). The distribution of the Aardvark is largely determined by the distribution of suitable ant and termite species and where the soils are conducive to digging burrows. Geographic range has not changed in recent times, although they may be disappearing from countries where the bushmeat trade is a problem, and they certainly experience habitat loss locally due to agriculture and human expansion.

Within the assessment region, Aardvarks occur almost throughout the entire country of South Africa, where sightings indicate presence in all provinces, and are only absent from small parts of the Western Cape and Northern Cape. Although there are no records available for Swaziland, they occur widely in the country (Monadjem 1998). While Lynch (1994) predicted it might marginally occur in Lesotho, there are no records from the region. Occurrence is sparse but extensive. They occur on human-disturbed habitats too, such as in the Natal Midlands on farmlands that are grazed or cut. No range contractions or expansions have been recorded.

Population trend

Trend

Current population trends are not known. In southern Africa there is no reason to believe that they are decreasing or increasing significantly due to any factors other than natural variations resulting from the nature of the arid habitats they occupy. Densities vary according to habitat suitability, including the abundance of prey, but cannot be directly tied to observed burrow densities as Aardvarks change burrows frequently and an area may contain many abandoned burrows (Taylor 2013). A study in the Karoo estimated the density of Aardvarks to be c. 8 animals / 10 km2 (Taylor & Skinner 2003).

Within the assessment region, the number of mature individuals is unknown but likely to be > 10,000 given their extensive distribution. This may represent 10–30% of the global population because Aardvark numbers have declined in countries where bushmeat poaching is an issue. There are no quantified data on population trends, but we can assume they are not declining as there are no major threats in the country and protected areas in South Africa are not subject to significant bushmeat poaching, as is the case in countries outside the region (Lindsey et al. 2013). However, anecdotal evidence suggests that numbers may be declining slowly in smaller natural or protected areas, due to the cumulative impacts of persecution, hunting and climate change, but further research and monitoring is needed to confirm these suspected local declines. 

Their level of fragmentation is unknown, but suspected to not be severe. Aardvarks occur inside and outside of protected areas and are therefore able to move fairly freely. Fences are not always a barrier to Aardvarks as they burrow underneath them (Schumann et al. 2006). Thus, it is unlikely that Aardvarks occur in distinct subpopulations because they have relatively free movement across their range.

Reproductive rates and survival rates are unknown in the wild. Zoo animals are known to live up to 14–20 years, although it is unlikely Aardvarks live this long in the wild. Although zoo animals grow quickly, this is not the case in the wild where the diet is restricted to ants and termites. Aardvarks are unlikely to reproduce in the wild before three years of age. If they live to an average age of 15 years, an educated guess for average age of reproduction would be somewhere between six and 10 years (A. Taylor unpubl. data). Pacifici et al. (2013) have estimated generation length in the wild to be 9.9 years.

Threats

There are no known major threats to the species that have been quantified. However, local declines are likely due to the cumulative impacts of habitat loss from agricultural and human settlement expansion and associated subsistence hunting and persecution. Climate change may represent an emerging threat. The following threats occur within the assessment region:

Agricultural expansion: Currently, Aardvarks both lose habitat to agricultural practices, particularly croplands, and are persecuted by farmers because of the damage caused by burrows to dams, fences, roads, mechanical equipment and injury to domestic livestock falling in burrows. Damage to game fences allow valuable game species to escape and also allow predators to access game-fenced areas (Schumann et al. 2006; Weise et al. 2014; Rust et al. 2015) This is an ongoing but low-severity threat. For example, in the North West Province, farmers have mentioned that they are a problem due to digging holes on roads and are blamed for injuries to cattle calves that have fallen in their holes (Power 2014).

Hunting: Aardvarks are killed for claws, teeth and skins, and used in traditional medicine or for curios. This is probably an ongoing but low-severity threat. Similarly, they are killed for their protein, either for sale in illegal markets or for personal consumption. The level of this threat is unknown in the assessment region, but is probably very low. Outside of the assessment region, this is a significant threat (Lindsey et al. 2013).

Climate change: Food sources may be affected by increasing desiccation of habitat. In 2013, there was a significant die-off of Aardvarks in an area of the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve studied by a WITS research team (L. Meyer unpubl. data). This die-off resulted from an abnormally hot and dry period. Most of the animals observed were extremely thin before they died. From the temperature and activity data loggers from some of the dead animals, a slow decline in minimum body temperature was observed, a finding that is known to reflect a poor nutritional state. Interestingly, these Aardvarks also completely shifted their activity patterns and became more diurnal and foraged more in the mornings and late afternoons. At the time food availability was not measured directly but assumptions are that the dry and hot conditions decreased the ant and termite populations. Similar activity shifts and dies-offs have been reported during droughts in Namibia in the 1980s (Stuart & Stuart 2007). Other anecdotal reports have indicated similar die-offs in areas of Limpopo.

Uses and trade

Aardvarks are used for meat, curios (skin, claws and teeth), and for some traditional medicinal purposes. Within the assessment region, it is highly sought after in the traditional medicine trade and hunted for bushmeat (tails regarded as a delicacy). This is especially the case in Swaziland, but the degree to which this occurs nationally is not thought to negatively impact the population. However, they may be increasingly sourced from core conservation areas. They have been recorded in traditional medicine markets in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng provinces at least (Simelane & Kerley 1998; Whiting et al. 2011). The most severe threat is the bushmeat trade, but the degree of use within the assessment region is unknown. In western Kenya, local hunters flooded burrows to kill animals for food (Rathbun 2011). No international trade issues are known.

Wildlife ranching is generally considered to be increasing and enhancing habitat for this species. However, the land should be left unmanaged as far as possible to sustain termite and ant density. Managing for herbivore biomass alone might not benefit this species. However, Whittington-Jones (2006) suggests that increased trampling of grass pastures by cattle creates favourable conditions for termites. It may also be persecuted as a damage causing animal for digging under fences and facilitating escapes of economically important game species. We suspect that, in general, the increase in wildlife ranching is having a positive effect on Aardvark subpopulations because of the increase in the amount of optimal habitat, but this requires further research.

Conservation

They are present in a number of large and well-managed protected areas across the assessment region. No targeted conservation measures are necessary at present, but this should be revisited if further data becomes available. Additionally, conservationists should work with land owners to trial wildlife-friendly fences and collate the evidence for their effectiveness in reducing persecution rates. For example, research from Namibia has shown that swing gates may be an effective alternate passageway for burrowing animals: both Schumann et al. (2006) and Rust et al. (2015) showed that the installation of swing gates decreased the number of holes created by Aardvark across the duration of the study, as the Aardvarks selected swing-gates instead. Similarly, the use of discarded car tyres installed into wildlife-proof fences has been demonstrated to be a cost-efficient and effective way to reduce damage and facilitate dispersal, where Aardvarks were observed to use the tyres as passageways (Weise et al. 2014). Similar interventions should be conducted in the assessment region. Awareness and education campaigns should be used to target farmers, wildlife ranchers and other landowners on the importance of Aardvarks as a keystone species and on potential mitigation measures for any potential damage caused.

Recommendations for land managers and practitioners: 
  • No management plans are currently necessary, but land managers should allow ants and termites to reach natural densities. They should also be encouraged to trial wildlife-friendly fence designs. 
  • Practitioners and researchers should use the correct drug combination when immobilising Aardvarks so as not to impair recovery (Nel et al. 2000; Rey et al. 2014).
Research priorities:
  • Determine population size and trends across its range to quantify potential decline rates.
  • Quantify the effects of threats on population, especially persecution and bushmeat mortalities. 
  • Research effectiveness of wildlife-friendly fencing in reducing persecution rates. 
  • Determine breeding success (and general breeding observations) of individuals in the wild.
Encouraged citizen actions: 
  • As the Aardvark is a large and easily identifiable species, it lends itself to being recorded by citizens on virtual museum platforms (for example, iSpot and MammalMAP). This would be very useful to help determine area of occurrence, which has not been determined for Aardvarks within the assessment region.

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