What astonishing number of insects might an aardvark consume in one dedicated night of foraging?
Answer
Up to 50,000 insects in a single night of dedicated feeding.
A remarkable figure cited regarding the feeding efficiency of the aardvark during a single foraging session is the potential to consume as many as 50,000 insects. This massive volume of intake is a critical necessity to sustain the aardvark's energy requirements because, compared to larger prey animals, termites and ants offer a relatively low nutritional density. Termites are often favored due to their higher biomass availability, but the overall diet composition shifts based on which species are easiest to access locally across their extensive range. This high prey count dependence for survival is rare among mammals.
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