All About the Hyrax, the Elephant's Cousin That Looks Like a Rodent
Rock hyraxes are also called rock rabbits, or dassies. Other hyrax nicknames include pimbi, stone badger, cape hyrax, coney, and klipdas. Little brother of the elephant: What is one of the closest living relatives of the elephant? If you said the manatee or dugong, which are both marine mammals, you would be correct. But there is another family member that is often forgotten: the hyrax (HI-racks).
It might look a bit like a large guinea pig or rabbit with very short ears, but the hyrax is neither. Instead, the hyrax has similar teeth, toes, and skull structures to that of an elephant's. More importantly, the hyrax shares an ancestor with the elephant. The hyrax's strong molars grind up tough vegetation, and two large incisor teeth grow out to be tiny tusks, just like an elephant's. There are three members of the Procaviidae or hyrax family: the rock hyrax, tree hyrax, and bush or yellow-spotted hyrax. The rock hyrax is 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 hyrax feel its way around, the same way a cat uses its whiskers. The hyrax has short legs and 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.