The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) ("Digging foot"), sometimes called "antbear" is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa. The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for "earth pig" (aarde earth, varken pig), because early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a pig. However, the Aardvark is not closely related to pigs, being placed in its own order.