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Yup that is interesting..
Does anyone know how many there are left in KNP since no one hardly sees them?

Hello,
me (german) book about mammals of S.A. says, that the aardwolf is able to roar incredible loud.. One can´t believe.. he looks so cute
Anyone heard this roaring ?
And the book says that aardwolfs are common all over SA Not only parks+farms?

My family and I have travelled SA but mostly KNP..
My Uncle works in the park and has been for quite a long time now. He does trail walks with people but I think his only seen one once.. As far as the rest of my family I doubt they have seen 1..

Aadwolfs have been known to give a loud roar if they under stress. But their normal vocalising is a growl ending in a sudden bark.

I've aardwolf once in KTP, and once at night on a lonely dirt road in the middle of the Northern Cape. According to my mammal book, they occur all over SA.

So? Are you a self confessed Aard"were"wolf?

Saw one only once, last weekend down to Durban, just past Villiers on the N3. But it was killed.

Saw one on a night drive in the Karoo NP last December. According to the guide they see them quite regularly.

Saw an Aardwolf in Etosha once...OK I know it's not SA Parks. Will have to check my mammal register at home. I have kept a register of all mammals seen since the first time we visited National Parks in 1993. Will let you know if we have seen one in KNP.

I am so excited to share this news with you all. Yesterday (3rd August 2008). Hubby and I spotted our very first Aardwolf, crossing the road ( H1-2) just South of Leeupan in the early morning. We were speechless! No time for pix. The Aardwolf disappeared so quickly that we think it must have gone down a hole close to the road.
As we have never seen one before our reaction was: "What is that? ..... OMG I think it's an Aardwolf..."
After we arrived home last night we googled for pix and checked all mammal books. Sure enough a definite VERY BIG TICK.

Wow, that is a huge tick, well done
I am very

Fantastic sighting for Kruger...Never seen one there. They are very common on the farms of the Eastern Cape and Two weeks ago at Addo I spotted a Jackal far away on the Domkrag Loop hassling an animal in a ditch. At first I thought it was a Hyena but I scanned with my Binos and there were the tell tale stripes of an Aaardwolf...first for me at Addo. It was 400 metres awy so far too far for any pics

Gfordyce and hubby,you can really regard yourselves very privileged .Very few people ever see them and even fewer in KRUGER . Over 41 years and 121 visits ,I have never had an Aardwolf (Prosteles cristatus ) sighting in KRUGER .I have had the following sightings 1988 just south of Zastron in the Free State late evening crossing the road .1994 at the intersection at Bloemendal on the Meyerton - Heidelberg road unfortunately the poor animal had been killed and was hanging over the fence.Then a family of them at Mabula Game Reserve on a night drive Oct 2005 this was very exciting.CUSTOS NATURAE

gfordyce, I believe you 100%, as your other postings have been reliable.

However, this is a massive sighting, and some may question the following:

How early in the morning? - Aardwolves are strictly nocturnal, and the location would suggest you had been travelling for a while, even though the gates now open when it is still pretty dark.

How dense was the vegetation, as the subject disappeared so quickly? From the quick ID suggested, one would assume the subject was less than 50m away. Otherwise, a binocular view would be called for, obviously not the case.

Gut instinct plays a huge role, and I assume you have seen how young Spotted Hyenas dash to safety when caught exploring around their "stormwater drain" dens, or sometimes not!

Was there such a drain noticeable?

Still with "gut instinct": I have never seen a wild Aardwolf myself, and would immediately recognise "something new" should I see this in Kruger, I think!

Once again, I do not doubt your sighting!

Saw one on the road from Springbok to Upington on the way to KTP, but very sadly it was roadkill

Hi Richprins
I know this sighting is hard to believe. It was hard for us to believe.
We were staying at Tshokwane with Steve ( San Parks Southern Sector head ranger). It was 6ish in the morning. Steve with whom we were staying has seen an Aardwolf a couple of times in KNP. It was a gloomy morning and the light was still crespucular. The thing that caught our eye was the silvery mane, the size and gait. The bush was not that thick and there were no culverts. By the time we drove to where it pranced across the road we could not see it!

Excellent!

Well explained, and you are so lucky to be able to visit Stephen!