Where in the World?

Question: Who is the rodent-looking “little brother” of elephants and manatees, living on a natural formation that sounds right at home in your kitchen?

Answer: The rock hyrax.

Weighing in at only four to twelve pounds and standing at no more than a foot tall with short snouts, fur, whiskers, cleft upper lips, short ears, and short sturdy legs, nobody would ever guess that the rock hyrax is related to elephants and manatees. At first glance, they more closely resemble a woodchuck, oversized guinea pig, or rabbit. But, despite its small stature and its resemblance to rodents, the rock hyrax’s closest relatives are, indeed, elephants and manatees.

Hyraxes, manatees, and elephants descend from a common hooved ancestor from the group of mammals known as tethytheria, who died out some 50 million years ago. That’s why, believe it or not, the hyrax has similar toes and skull structures to that of an elephant. And along with their strong molars for grinding up tough vegetation, the hyrax has two large incisor teeth which grow out to be tiny tusks—just like an elephant’s.

True to their name, rock hyraxes love to hang out in arid terrain where there are boulders, rock formations, and scrub-covered areas. Thus, it makes sense that they like to call Table Mountain home with its nooks on sheer cliffs that provide shelter and protection. One of Cape Town's most dramatic natural landmarks, Table Mountain has some 1,400 species of wild flowering plants growing on and around it and offers spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, the bays, the city below, and the peninsula that meanders south to the Cape of Good Hope. Unsurprisingly, Table Mountain was named after its uncanny resemblance to a table by a Portuguese explorer, Antonio de Saldanha, in 1503.

So, just who are the furry little brothers of elephants and manatees, living atop Table Mountain? Rock hyraxes are also called rock rabbits, dassies, pimbis, stone badgers, cape hyraxes, coneys, and klipdas. Regardless of what nickname you choose for them, you can bet on a rock hyrax being covered in short brown fur with a lighter underbelly. There are extra-long hairs that stick out around the body called guard hairs to help the rock hyrax feel its way around—the same way a cat uses its whiskers. The rock hyrax also has rounded toes with a long nail (called a grooming claw) on the inner toe of the back foot that is used for picking through hair and scratching an itch. A scent gland on its back (called a dorsal gland) is covered with longer black hairs, used to mark rocks or trees to communicate with other hyraxes.

Rock hyraxes live throughout much of Africa and in Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and the Sinai and Arabian Peninsulas. Their habitats range from dry savanna to dense rainforest to cold Afro-alpine moorland—wherever they can find "kopjes" (rock outcroppings and cliffs)—with colonies that range from five to 60 individuals and may contain more than one hyrax species.

Weather permitting, a rock hyrax’s day always start with a group sunbathing session for several hours; rock hyraxes do not like cool or rainy weather—they won’t even come out of their rock shelter if it’s a downcast day. Once warmed up, they head out for a short period of feeding in a circle formation with their heads pointing to the outside of the circle to keep an eye out for predators. They need to be vigilant with the long list of animals who would love to make them into a snack: Rock hyraxes are preyed upon by leopards, servals, caracals, lions, hyenas, jackals, African wild dogs, pythons, Egyptian cobras, puff adders, Verreaux’s eagles, black eagles, martial eagles, and owls. Thanks to their great vision, a rock hyrax can see one of these predators coming from over 1,000 yards away.

Typically, rock hyraxes stay safe from predators by hiding in burrows that are too small for their predators to fit into. But they’ve also been known to escape predation by playing dead. And if a predator is on the smaller side, then they’ll sometimes band together to scare them off by biting and snapping at them with their long, sharp incisors. If they can avoid becoming a meal, rock hyraxes can live up to nine to 12 years with a median life expectancy of 4.9 years.

Rock hyraxes have at least 21 different vocalizations, including trills, yips, grunts, wails, snorts, twitters, shrieks, growls, and whistles. A happy, friendly rock hyrax makes a squeaky whistle sound; a sharp bark is a warning call that danger is near; a low grunt means "Back off, buddy!" The most common call is a high-pitched, mewing note, which can be heard at great distances and is used to indicate the individual’s location.

7 Interesting Facts About Rock Hyraxes:

• Rock hyraxes have powerful urine: Rock hyraxes consistently urinate in the same place, and the large amounts of calcium carbonate in their urine turns the cliffs where they live white. The calcium carbonate crystals were used as medicine—both by several African tribes as well as by Europeans—to treat such ailments as epilepsy, hysteria, and various injuries.


• Rock hyrax pups have a … peculiar taste: When pups are born, usually around the same time once each year, the entire colony greets and sniffs the young ones. They probably don’t smell too good, though: To get the bacteria their stomach needs to help digest plants, the babies will eat hyrax poop. In addition to hyrax urine, hyrax poop has also been used in traditional folk medicine and even to create musky perfume.


• Rock hyraxes spend 95% of their time relaxing: Adult rock hyraxes have a leisurely lifestyle, spending 95% of their time resting. Resting often involves "heaping" in their dens, which is basically just laying on top of one another. They don’t always heap, however: It depends on the temperature. If it’s warmer than usual, rock hyraxes might huddle instead of heap. And if it’s hot out, they might resort to solitary resting.


• Hyraxes can create intricate melodies: In the same manner that birds sing songs, male rock hyraxes sing complex songs that can last for several minutes and serve a territorial purpose. When researchers looked at how males put together different syllables (wails, chucks, snorts, squeaks, and tweets) to compose a song, they not only found the order of the syllables was significant—meaning that hyrax songs make use of syntax (the way different elements are combined)—but they also found hyraxes from different regions used different local dialects in their songs. And just like a human might be more appealing if they’re good at playing guitar or singing, a hyrax’s singing frequency and rhythm are seen by potential mates as indicators of suitability.


• Rock hyraxes have feet with natural suction cups: The soles of a rock hyrax’s foot are rubber-like and are kept moist by a glandular secretion, with a hollow in the middle of the sole formed by a muscle arrangement that allows it to act like a suction cup. Both characteristics make rock hyraxes very agile animals that climb well and run and jump skillfully, without slipping, even on rugged and steep surfaces. They can even "chimney" up and down tight spaces.


• Rock hyraxes have built-in sun visors: Rock hyraxes have a special eyelid (called a nictitating membrane) for sun and dust protection; a bulge in each iris acts as a built-in sun visor.


• Rock hyraxes have a three-chambered stomach: Rock hyraxes have a three-chambered stomach with bacteria to help digest the plants they eat. During the wet season, rock hyraxes eat mostly grass, but when the grass dries, they switch to browse materials: fruits and leaves. Thanks to their unique anatomy, they can also eat plants that are poisonous to most other animals.

Stand upon Table Mountain and keep an eye out for Rock Hyraxes during the Cape Town & the Cape of Good Hope post-trip extension to our Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari adventure.