Proteles lalandii; Print; The aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is an insectivorous mammal; native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch. It is also called "maanhaar-jackal" (Afrikaans for "mane-jackal"); "ant hyena" or civet hyena; based on its habit of secreting substances from its anal gland; a characteristic shared with the African civet. The aardwolf is in the same family as the hyena. Unlike many of its relatives in the order Carnivora; the aardwolf doesn't hunt large animals. It eats insects and their larvae; mainly termites; one aardwolf can lap up as many as 250; 000 termites during a single night using its long; sticky tongue.; 1700-1880