Aardvark vs Anteater: What's the Difference?

The aardvark is sometimes called an anteater, but it isn’t related to the South American anteaters. The aardvark isn't dangerous to people; the anteater can be dangerous to people.

Quick answers

They differ on 3 of the 8 quick answers: dangerous, awake when, do people eat it.

Quick answers for the aardvark and the anteater
Question	Aardvark	Anteater
What is it?	Mammal	Mammal
Carnivore?	Insects only	Insects only
Dangerous? differs	No	Can be
Domesticated?	No	No
Awake when? differs	Night	Day & night
Hibernates?	No	No
Kept as a pet?	No	No
Do people eat it? differs	In places	No

At a glance

At a glance: the aardvark and the anteater
Question	Aardvark	Anteater
Found in differs	Africa	South America, Central America
Habitat differs	Grassland, Scrub, Forest	Grassland, Rainforest, Forest
Size	Medium	Medium
Length differs	100–158 cm	35 cm (silky anteater) to 1.8 m (giant anteater, with tail)
Weight differs	40–82 kg	18–39 kg (giant anteater)
Legs	4	4
Covered in differs	Skin	Fur
Lives	Alone	Alone
Lives for differs	18–23 years	14–16 years
Can fly	No	No
Swims	Yes	Yes
Lays eggs	No	No

About each

Aardvark

A burrowing, nocturnal African mammal that digs out ants and termites with powerful claws and collects them with a long, sticky tongue. It’s the only living member of its order, related to elephants and manatees.

Everything on the aardvark page

Anteater

Four species of toothless mammals that eat ants and termites, related to sloths: the giant anteater, the silky anteater and two tamanduas. Pangolins, aardvarks and echidnas are sometimes called anteaters but aren’t related.

Everything on the anteater page

Sources

Last reviewed 30 September 2026. The answers and notes come from each animal's own page, where every source is listed.

How each answer is decided: How we answer. More look-alikes: Commonly confused animals.