THEY MAY LOOK LIKE RODENTS, BUT HYRAX ARE ACTUALLY MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO ELEPHANTS. YOU WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO TELL BY THEIR SIZE — AN ELEPHANT IS MORE THAN A THOUSAND TIMES BIGGER!

The incredibly shy rock hyrax is native to Africa. These animals have rubber-like feet with a hollow middle, like a suction cup. This allows them to scurry quickly over rock faces to avoid predators and dash into the tiny holes in the rock wall that they call home.

These herbivores’ favorite foods are plants, berries and flower buds, but their diet also includes several poisonous plants. Amazingly, rock hyrax can eat plants that are too dangerous for other animals to eat because of their hardy three-chambered stomach.