A burrow is  a tunnel, or hole, that an animal creates by digging into the ground.

Burrows are used as shelter from the weather, protection from predators and for raising offspring.

Animals may dig only one tunnel, while others may create a network of tunnels.

They can be found in almost every ‘biome’ in the world.

The largest burrowing animal is the polar bear which digs a den in snow or dirt.

Which Mammal Digs The Most Burrows?

The aardvark.

A single aardvark has been known to dig 60 entrances in one relatively small area!

Aardvarks live in Africa and are primarily nocturnal and have a sticky tongue that helps them eat ants and termites.

Aardvark means “earth pig” in South African.

As a ‘keystone species’, aardvarks’ burrows are essential to survival for a variety of other animals that share their environment.

Sources:

“Aardvark.” Kids’ Games, Animals, Photos, Stories, and More. N.p., 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/aardvark/#aardvark-tongue-out.jpg>.

Wisbey, Jane, and Mark Carwardine. Animal Record Breakers: Thousands of Amazing Facts and Spectacular Feats. Buffalo, NY: Firefly, 2016. Print.