Editing Aardwolf (section)

===Breeding===
The [[breeding season]] varies depending on location, but normally takes place during autumn or spring. In South Africa, breeding occurs in early July.<ref name=mh108/> During the breeding season, unpaired male aardwolves search their own territory, as well as others, for a female to mate with. Dominant males also mate opportunistically with the females of less dominant neighboring aardwolves,<ref name=mh108/> which can result in conflict between rival males.<ref name=ingo/> Dominant males even go a step further and as the breeding season approaches, they make increasingly greater and greater incursions onto weaker males' territories. As the female comes into [[oestrus]], they add pasting to their tricks inside of the other territories, sometimes doing so more in rivals' territories than their own.<ref name=mh108/> Females will also, when given the opportunity, mate with the dominant male, which increases the chances of the dominant male guarding "his" cubs with her.<ref name=mh108/> [[Copulation (zoology)|Copulation]] lasts between 1 and 4.5 hours.<ref name="Richardson"/><ref>{{cite thesis |author=Sliwa, A. |year=1996 |title=A functional analysis of scent marking and mating behaviour in the aardwolf ''Proteles cristatus''s (Sparrman, 1783) |type=PhD |publisher=University of Pretoria |place=Pretoria |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35640520}}</ref>

[[Gestation]] lasts between 89 and 92 days,<ref name=ingo/><ref name=mh108/> producing two to five [[List of animal names|cubs]] (most often two or three) during the rainy season (October–December),<ref name=Colliers/> when termites are more active.<ref name=EB/> They are born with their eyes open, but initially are helpless,<ref name=PKR/> and weigh around {{cvt|200|-|350|g}}.<ref name=ingo/> The first six to eight weeks are spent in the [[Burrow|den]] with their parents.<ref name=br31/> The male may spend up to six hours a night watching over the cubs while the mother is out looking for food.<ref name=mh108/><ref name=PKR/> After three months, they begin supervised foraging, and by four months are normally independent, though they often share a den with their mother until the next breeding season.<ref name=br31/> By the time the next set of cubs is born, the older cubs have moved on.<ref name=mh108/> Aardwolves generally achieve [[sexual maturity]] at one and a half to two years of age.<ref name=ingo/>