At 1-year old, when the next cubs have emerged from the den, young aardwolves have left their natal territory unless an aardwolf parent of the same sex has died.
At about 1-year old, when the next year’s cubs have emerged from the den, aardwolf offspring start making excursions into neighboring territories. Once they have finally left, they seldom return, becoming transients in search of vacant territories elsewhere in the region.
If an aardwolf parent dies, however, a cub of the same sex usually remains in its natal territory.
• Image | © Wildlife Wanderer, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
• Sources | (Koehler & Richardson, 1990; Richardson, 1985; Richardson, 1987a)
