Rock Hyrax
Procavia capensis

Plant-eating rock hyraxes live in colonies of 25 to 80 animals amid rocks and scrub. Each family unit consists of a male, one or more females, and their young.

What They Eat
Rock hyraxes eat all kinds of plants, including ones that are poisonous to other animals. They occasionally eat insects and bark as well.

Where They Live
Hyraxes survive in rugged terrain across a wide range of latitudes. Their main need seems to be warmth.

What They Do
Unlike almost all other mammals, hyraxes cannot control their body temperature. This poor thermoregulation means they are active mainly during the day and spend a lot of time sunning themselves on rocks. They also tend to stay huddled in rock shelters at night or when weather is rainy, cool or cloudy.

How They’re Doing
Hyraxes appear abundant and not threatened in most of the places they are found.

Rock Hyrax
Procavia capensis

When hyrax colonies are out and about, one member acts as a sentry, watching for danger and barking if it sees something that alarms it.

The hyrax’s feet have a moist, sticky surface that works like a suction cup to help it cling to surfaces as it climbs.

Hyraxes have been observed to go more than four months without water.

The hyrax’s closest relatives are elephants, manatees, and dugongs.

Fossils have been found that suggest hyrax ancestors were the size of oxen.

Hyraxes can climb trees.

Rock hyrax colonies pee and poop in a single spot on the rocks. Over time, this pile becomes a large, sticky mass. This material has been used by humans for a variety of purposes, including medicine.

 

Rock Hyrax
Procavia capensis

Range and Habitat
Rock hyraxes are found through much of Africa and into the Middle East. As their name implies, they are most common in scrubby, rocky habitat, with lots of crevices and holes that provide shelter that provides escape from predators or inclement weather.

Description
Rock hyraxes look like large guinea pigs, with gray, brown, or brownish-yellow fur. They have dark noses; tiny, mouselike ears; and only a stumpy tail. They have a light-colored spot on their back. The middle toe of a hyrax’s back feet has a claw that it uses for grooming itself. Its incisor teeth grow constantly, and are worn down by the animal’s biting and chewing.

Habits and Adaptations
Rock hyraxes spend their time in large groups called colonies. They have evolved an elaborate system of communication that helps them coordinate behavior among themselves. Unable to completely regulate their body temperature internally, hyraxes use behavior to help keep from getting too hot or too cold. In chilly weather they may stay huddled in shelters to conserve body heat. When the sun is shining they like to lie on rocks to get warm.

Eat and Be Eaten
Rock hyraxes eat mainly grass, but they also consumer other kinds of plant material, including some things other animals would find poisonous. Leopards, jackals, hyenas, lions, eagles, and pythons are among the animals that eat hyraxes.

Life History
Rock hyraxes become mature at about 16 months of age. Seven to 8 months after breeding the females give birth to two to four young—an unusually long gestation for a mammal so small. The young may begin nibbling at plants when they are just a couple of days old, but they are not weaned for about three months. After male hyraxes mature, they leave their birth colony to find a new place to live. Rock hyraxes may live to be 9–12 years old.

Conservation Notes
People occasionally hunt rock hyraxes for food or for their hides. Overall, however, hyrax populations seem to be steady and strong.