Aardvark

The aardvark (Orycteropus afer),

a peculiar beast in an order, family and genus all by itself, is a phenomenal digger and a prodigious eater of ants. Although it has a very small brain and poor eyesight, it has an excellent sense of smell that it uses to locate ants and termites. Once it has smashed into an ant nest or termite mound, the aardvark pokes its long nose in and laps up the insects with its 45cm-long, sticky tongue, consuming as many as 50,000 in a night. The insects have little chance of fighting back: the aardvark's tough skin is impenetrable, its nostrils are thick with hairs to keep things out and its rabbit-like ears can be folded closed. Most insects are swallowed whole but one type of ant is chewed using flat cheek teeth which have no enamel covering and which grow and wear down constantly.