Warthogs and aardvarks are African species with specialized welfare needs often overlooked compared to more charismatic megafauna. Understanding their requirements improves their zoo welfare.
Warthog and aardvark welfare illustrate how species with less public appeal may receive less welfare investment. Warthogs are social animals that benefit from group housing and the opportunity to wallow, root, and engage in normal social behaviors. In small, barren exhibits without social complexity or appropriate substrate, welfare is significantly compromised. Aardvarks present extreme welfare challenges - their diet of 50,000 termites nightly cannot be replicated in captivity, and dietary substitutes must be carefully formulated to avoid nutritional deficiencies. Nocturnality means aardvarks in zoo settings are typically invisible to daytime visitors, reducing the welfare investment they receive relative to visible daytime species. The few facilities that successfully maintain aardvarks invest heavily in nighttime exhibits, appropriate substrate for digging, and careful dietary formulation.