Meet Nature's Most Adorable, Best Kept Secret: The Aardwolf

These cute creatures live in the scrublands of Southern and Eastern Africa. Aardwolves typically grow to be about the size of a fox, and they have distinctive black stripes around their chest and on their legs. They also have tufts of fur on their back that stand up like a mohawk. They’re related to hyenas, but unlike their carnivorous cousins, aardwolves prefer to get their food from below the ground.

Scientists used to think that aardwolves were solitary creatures, but they've recently learned that they're actually very family-oriented. Aardwolves are monogamous, and they'll stay with the same mate for their entire life. The female aardwolves often give birth to one to five cubs during the rainy season. If you think adult aardwolves are cute, wait until you see the baby aardwolves!