For #TilesOnTuesday + a belated #SaveTheRhinoDay:
“A two-horned African rhinoceros ‘PINOKEPOC’ on the Nilotic mosaic of the flooding of the river Nile in Egypt, from the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia at Praeneste, c. 100 BCE, Palestrina Museo Archeologico.”
For #NationalAardvarkWeek:
Aardvarks by Robert Jacob Gordon (Dutch, 1743-1795), from The Gordon African Collection, 4 albums of natural history illustrations made during 4 expeditions to the Dutch Cape Colony (South Africa) from 1777-86. Now in the Rijksmuseum collection.
#NationalAardvarkWeek shoutout to Zambia for putting an Aardvark on both a circulating coin and a banknote - apparently the only country cool enough to have ever done either:
Zambia 1 Ngwee standard circulation coin (1982-1983; a bronze version was also in circulation from 1968-1978)
Zambia 1000 Kwacha (1000 ZMK) standard banknote (2003-2012)
Honorable mention to The Gambia for once issuing a commemorative coin with an aardvark too:
The Gambia 40 Dalasis non-circulating coin Wildlife Conservation series (1977)
More for #NationalAardvarkWeek:
#DYK aardvarks are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa? They've been found in rock art from a number of sites across their native range.
Aardvark petroglyph on display at the National Museum of Cultural History in Pretoria, South Africa.
#AardvarksAareAawesome
#NationalAardvarkWeek fun fact: #DYK that aardvarks can stand up for a bit? Their thick kangaroo-like tail helps with balance!
Plate: Taf. 1 in Anatomische Untersuchungen über die Edentaten by Wilhelm Ludwig von Rapp, 1852. Biodiversity Heritage Library.
#AardvarksAareAawesome
#NationalAardvarkWeek insult:
"THE AARD-VARK," plate from Brehm's Life of Animals: Vol. 1, Mammalia, 1895. BHL.
"Here is one of the most clumsy, odd looking animals in the world."
Wow, rude! #AardvarksAareAawesome and actually quite swift and agile and can defend themselves well...
The Aardvark is many things, but clumsy isn't one of them - they can be FAST when they need to be (have been clocked at speeds of over 25mph/40kph) and have impressive evasive maneuving capabilities. Check out this one outrun a hyena before giving it the slip with an epic flip!
Here's the direct link to the video embedded in the story above; the chase starts about 1:20 in:
Aardvarks can not only run fast to escape, but can dig fast too - up to about .6 m/2 ft per 15 seconds! That escape hole in the video above was already there though - they have auxillary burrows throughout their home range in addition to their main home. Good planning!
