Jacoba Dongo, [29 Dec 2022 at 12:07:26]: https://www.citizen.co.za/middelburg-observer/news/2022/12/21/vreemde-diere-langs-die-pad-val-bakkie-aan/ Any ideas, other than rabies, why aardwolf will attack a bakkie (LDV)? Erik Verrynne, [29 Dec 2022 at 13:04:23]: I get the impression that the article and reports are dramatising the issue slightly. Not sure if the animals were actually jumping at the person inside the vehicle. So, it is difficult to quantify or even qualify the level of aggression. Rabies remains a possibility I suppose but having a few animals together (usually breeding pairs) is unusual. I suspect this was denning related behaviour. They den in spring. Other species such as like bat-eared foxes can certainly be quite territorial and will stand their ground even to vehicles which get too close to the den. We had a group of bat-eared foxes at Army Battle School that had Ratel armoured vehicles having to deviate around them where they had a den next to the road. They would stand their ground in the road, raise their hairs and lift their tails. Aardwolves can be equally intimidating when defending their territory against intruders.
