If you haven’t heard of aardwolves before then make sure that they are neither aardvarks nor wolves.
The name ‘aardwolf’ means ‘earth wolf’ in Afrikaans. They live in underground dens and they closely resemble small wolves. They belong to the 4 known hyena species.
Dr. Karin Laurens, one of the founders of JWV or Johannesburg Wildlife Vet, was once called as farmers found an animal that they thought was a hyena at first.
After the doctor examined the little animal it turned out to be a baby aardwolf. The farmers searched for her parents but there was no one in sight so they took the little one to the vet. The animal was dehydrated and underweight and needed special care.
Lauren named her Maple and began her attentive care. Soon Maple got attached to the vet. After 4 months of care and love, the little aardwolf was able to be back to her natural habitat. But before leaving, she looked back at her as a sign of “gratitude.”
