AARDWOLF

The aardwolf is a small, insectivorous mammal, native to East Africa and Southern Africa. Its name means “earth wolf” in the Afrikaans / Dutch language. It is also called “maanhaar jackal”.The aardwolf is in the same family as the hyenas. Unlike its relatives, the carnivora, the aardwolf does not hunt large animals, or even eat meat on a regular basis; instead it eats insects, mainly termites – one aardwolf can eat about 200,000 termites during a single night by using its long, sticky tongue to capture them.

Additional information

Mount Type

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Facts

•Several aardwolf females would give birth in the same den
• Black-backed jackal feed on the young of aardwolf
• The two parents of a breeding pair share their territory, but forage and sleep separately
• When defecating, an aardwolf can deposit 10% of its body weight in faeces that are 2 inches in diameter, mainly consisting of termite heads and soil

Taxidermy

Thorough preparation is the key factor to ensuring a high-quality final product. All hides are tanned and oiled using the world’s very best available chemicals and processes to ensure permanence and longevity.Forms are selected to ensure the best fit and posture will be altered to suit you, the client’s preference without additional cost. Natural habitat bases are custom-made for full mount trophies without additional cost.Only the finest materials and 40 years of professional experience are used in defining your trophies in a whole new way. The final trophies are almost Life-Formed. When the restoration is required, every effort is made to repair cuts and abrasions, and to minimise bullet damage. Natural scarring is kept unless otherwise requested.

Habitat

Aardwolves live in open, dry plains and bushland, avoiding mountainous areas. Due to specific food requirements, they are only found in regions where termites of the family Hodotermitidae occur.Termites of this family depend on dead and withered grass and are most populous in heavily grazed grasslands and savannahs, including farmland. For most of the year, aardwolves spend time in shared territories consisting of up to a dozen dens, which are occupied for six weeks at a time.

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Professional Aardwolf Taxidermy in South Africa

 

Aardwolf, Proteles cristata, translates to “earth wolf” in English due to the animal’s canine-like appearance (features). It has a hearty appetite for termites, which it finds by digging in the ground and in termite mounds. Aardwolves are also called “Maanhaar Jakkals” in Afrikaans (mane haired Jackals), a term that comes from the animal’s defensive behaviour of lifting its hair along its back to make itself look bigger and more threatening, to predators.

 

It looks menacing similar to a miniature Spotted Hyena, but it is an insectivore that subsists on harvester termites. Because of this, Aardwolves play a crucial ecological function in preventing the destruction of fertile farmland by termites.

 

Southern Africa, Namibia, and Zambia are the primary destinations for Aardwolf hunters across all of Africa. Although most of the animal’s population is in Southern Africa, there is also a sizeable population in Eastern and North-eastern Africa, Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe are among places you could encounter it.

 

Hunting Aardwolf

 

It thrives in open areas with low, shrubby vegetation. It is a nocturnal creature that forages for food at night and sleeps during the day. Aardwolves tend to live in packs, with each pack having their own area that spans approximately three kilometres and perhaps housing as many as 10 dens. In most cases, the dens are just bigger versions of original Aardvark, Porcupine, or small Springhare burrows. They are timid creatures that will try to fool their assailant by running backwards in their tracks. They are slow, and when cornered, they’ll either puff up their mane to make themselves look larger or release a foul-smelling substance.

 

A small calibre rifle is all that’s required for hunting the elusive Aardwolf in Africa. The Aardwolf trophy won’t require extensive taxidermy work if a.223 or .243 calibre rifle is used and a high-quality bullet that won’t explode upon impact. The ideal location for the bullet is about a third of the way up the torso, right behind the shoulder.

 

What is Aardwolf Taxidermy?

 

Planning carefully is the key to a good aardwolf taxidermy job. When tanning and oiling the hides, the best chemicals and methods in the world are used to make sure they will last for generations. At Lifeform Taxidermy, we carefully choose our forms to make sure they fit well, and we’ll even custom make the forms according to any instruction, you may have in mind, at no extra cost.

 

Full-mount trophies come with standard natural habitat bases that are made just for them. We use only the best materials and our 40 years of experience in the field to give your trophies new meaning. The finished trophies look life-like. When repair is needed, every effort is made to repair cuts and scrapes while keeping bullet damage to a minimum. Skin preparation and storage tips for a flawless Aardwolf trophy

 

Take care of your trophy before you bring it to the taxidermist – field preparation is the most important start.

 

As soon as you take the hit on your trophy, it starts to rot, and the heat of Africa speeds up the decaying process. The hunter must not drag the body of the animal from the site where it was shot to the waiting hunting truck. The trophy should be protected from the hot metal bed of the hunting truck with a thick layer of cut grass or leaves.

 

So that nothing goes wrong, the skinning needs to start right away. Remove all of the meat, fat, dirt, and blood from the skin. Clean the skin well. After that, allow the skin to drip dry for a short time, it should then be salted. It is recommended to soak the skin in a salt solution for at least five hours and ideally overnight. Use about 20 kg of salt per 100 litres of water. After taking the skin out of the solution, salt it while it is still flat and flesh side up on a clean surface. To get the full effect of the salt, it needs to be absorbed into the skin all over, into all the crevice’s, especially around the facial features.

 

Put the skin in the shade with a layer of salt on it. After 24 hours, dry the cape. Fold with the hair and ears in when it’s dry. To stop insect damage, pesticides must be sprayed on the skin and in the storage area.

 

The Aardwolf taxidermy process and method

 

How you choose an Aardwolf taxidermy mount depends on things like your budget, wall space, and personal taste. When it comes to the creation of a full mount, we find that considerable discussion with the customer yields the best results. This is due to the fact that each form is given a distinct shape and arrangement.

 

Life-Form Taxidermy will make an exact copy of the skin as soon as they get all of your mounting instructions. All of the skins are tanned and oiled with high-quality products and methods to make sure they are preserved for years.

 

Each skin is put on a manikin to make sure that it fits well. After the eyes and ears are expertly placed, the skin is sewn by a professional. Before making any last changes, the taxidermist waits until the animal is dry. They put the trophies in crates, and the shipping company hired by the client brings them to the client.

 

Taking care of your Aardwolf trophy

 

Every year, dust the mounts with a soft brush or compressed air to fluff up the hair. Trophies should be protected from common pests by spraying a light mist of normal aerosol surface pesticide around them. Think about preserving your trophy with Mount Medix Africa. This is a product that Life-Form Taxidermy offers.

 

Keep trophies in a cool, dry place. Daylight makes the mounts fade over time, so artificial light is better. If there’s too much humidity, open the windows or turn on a fan. Due to salt and tan residue, hair can make moisture beads when the humidity is high. Using a tissue that soaks up water will also soak up the salts.

 

Frequently asked questions

 

How much does an Aardwolf trophy cost?

 

The pricing of any trophy is subject to the costing stipulated per taxidermy order, quantity of trophies and preferred mounting options, along with additional requirements. Should you wish to receive a quotation prior to the hunt, the taxidermist can generate such for you.

 

How long does an aardwolf trophy take?

 

The time it takes a taxidermist to mount an animal might range from days to weeks, and possibly several months, depending on the quantity of trophies per taxidermy order, the display preferences, and volumes of client trophies to be produced, simultaneously, per production schedule.

 

The completion and packing timeframe combined, ranges from 8-12 months. This depends largely on the “what, how, when” factors. A taxidermy order also only becomes available for production scheduling upon receipt of the required deposit and trophy mounting instructions.

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