# Rock Hyrax

*Procavia capensis*

Despite their rodent-like appearance, their closest living relatives are actually elephants and manatees, sharing similar foot structures and tusk-like teeth.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Hyracoidea › Procaviidae › Procavia
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** desert
- **Habitat:** Rocky outcrops, cliffs, kopjes, and boulder fields in arid, semi-arid, and savanna regions.
- **Diet:** Herbivorous, feeding on a wide variety of grasses, herbage, leaves, fruit, and bark.
- **Range:** Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East
- **Size:** 30 to 55 cm in length, weighing 2 to 5 kg
- **Lifespan:** 8 to 12 years in the wild
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, hunting, and predation by caracals, leopards, and eagles.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless but defensive. Rock hyraxes are generally peaceful but will bite with sharp, tusk-like incisors if cornered or handled. Maintain a safe distance of 5 meters. If bitten, wash the wound with soap and water immediately and seek medical evaluation to prevent infection.

## About

The rock hyrax ( Procavia capensis ), also called rock badger and Cape hyrax , is commonly referred to in South African English as the dassie . It is one of the four living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only living species in the genus Procavia . Like all hyraxes, it is a medium-sized (~4 kg) terrestrial mammal, with short ears and tail.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/42becc31-7e1c-4aaa-9019-6794c7f093dd
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43086
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock Hyrax
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/484536845/medium.jpg (Rudolph Steenkamp, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.