Aardwolf - Northern Cape


The Big Hole, one of the largest mining pits in the world, is an open and underground mine excavated in Kimberly, South Africa. The search for diamonds began in 1871 and ended in 1914. Using only picks and shovels, the Kimberly Mine displaced 22 million tons of earth and has yielded almost 3,000 kilograms of diamonds.

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Proteles cristata - Despite being related to hyenas, an aardwolf sustains itself on a diet consisting of insects and insect larvae, especially termites. Aardwolves are primarily nocturnal and prefer spending the day in one of the cooler burrows maintained in their territory; aardwolves pair for life. When feeding, the aardwolf uses its sticky tongue to lap up insects from the ground. Unlike the unrelated aardvark, the aardwolf will harvest a termite nest without destroying it when feeding. This allows the termite population to rebuild itself for a future feast.