Rock hyrax

The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), also called rock badger, rock rabbit, and Cape hyrax, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South African English as the dassie (/dasiː/), it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus Procavia.Like all hyraxes, it is between 4 kilograms (9 lb) and 5 kilograms (11 lb) in mass, with short ears and tail. The rock hyrax is found at elevations up to 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) in habitats with rock crevices allowing it to escape from predators. It is the only extant terrestrial afrotherian in the Middle East. Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group. It has been reported to use sentries to warn of the approach of predators. Having incomplete thermoregulation, it is most active in the morning and evening, although its activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate. Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest. In Ethiopia, Israel and Jordan, it is a reservoir of the leishmaniasis parasite. Along with other hyrax species and the manatee, this species is the most closely related to the elephant. The rock hyrax is squat and heavily built, adults reaching a length of 50 cm (20 in) and weighing around 4 kg (8.8 lb), with a slight sexual dimorphism, males being approximately 10% heavier than females. Their fur is thick and grey-brown, although this varies strongly between different environments: from dark brown in wetter habitats, to light gray in desert living individuals. Hyrax size (as measured by skull length and humerus diameter) is correlated to precipitation, probably because of the effect on preferred hyrax forage. Prominent in and apparently unique to hyraxes is the dorsal gland, which excretes an odour used for social communication and territorial marking. The gland is most clearly visible in dominant males. The rock hyrax has a pointed head, short neck, and rounded ears. They have long black whiskers on their muzzles. The rock hyrax has a prominent pair of long, pointed tusk-like upper incisors which are reminiscent of the elephant, to which the hyrax is distantly related. The forefeet are plantigrade, and the hind feet semi-digitigrade. The soles of the feet have large, soft pads that are kept moist with sweat-like secretions. In males, the testes are permanently abdominal, another anatomical feature that hyraxes share with their relatives elephants and sirenians. Thermoregulation in the rock hyrax has been subject to much research, as their body temperature varies with a diurnal rhythm. However, animals kept in constant environmental conditions also display such variation and this internal mechanism may be related to water balance regulation.