Klippschliefer

Klippschliefer

We are delighted that Brigitte Stahl, Christine Stahl Da Agueda and Michael Stahl are supporting the Museum Koenig's rainforest exhibition with a sponsorship. Congratulations!

Despite their rodent-like appearance, rock hyraxes belong to the Afrotheria group and are therefore closely related to elephants and manatees. They live in dry, rocky areas in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Rock hyraxes live in colonies of up to 50 animals, which consist of several separate family groups. After a very long gestation period of 225 days, 2-3 well-developed young are born. They are active during the day and can move nimbly over the rocks thanks to their specialised, suction-cup-like soles. Their irises, which can become extremely narrow, allow the animals to look directly into the sun.

Rock hyraxes are herbivores and feed on grasses, herbs and shrubs, especially fresh shoots and fruits. Their predators include leopards, jackals, mongooses, weasels and birds of prey. To warn the colony of predators, some animals always keep watch. When their warning call is heard, the animals hide in the crevices and caves.

The rock hyraxes in the display collection come from different parts of the distribution area:

One female and one male were collected in Israel in 1961, one female, one male and the juvenile were collected in Namibia in 1999 and mounted by our taxidermists (H. Meurer, M. Weigt and C. Kopleck).