Also known as Rock Rabbit, but I'm not going to call it that because it isn't a rabbit. It looks kinda like one, but it isn't. Especially around the ears. This is a picture from the PBS link below.
Since they also spend mornings sunbathing before they go out to find food, they also probably don't have the energy. (Pic below still from PBS, of what might be a sunbathing Hyrax.)
They got their name of being Rock Rabbits because they live in cliffs and rock faces, and live in little rock sanctuaries. They're from Africa, so they do have to be a bit careful about making sure they don't overpopulate and cause problems, but they're mostly considered pests because they eat what farmers are growing. It's hard to consider them too annoying though, with pictures like this running around. (Still PBS)
On interesting things about these guys, there are a few things. First is that they sing--though that's a rather kind description of the sounds that I've found for them, so I wouldn't suggest looking that up too much. Otherwise, they have 29 vertebrea, which beats most mammals, and they pee in the same spot for generations, which leads to mounds of pee that apparently can be used in perfumery. You might consider investigating the ingredients of your perfume, if you wear it, because they also like using whale puke and oils from the anal glands of beavers, so I'm just never going to tempt it.
The thing that I find most interesting about them though, is that despite looking like a capybara or a marmot, the closest living relative to a Hyrax is...an elephant or dugong. There are a few shared traits that they get from a common ancestor, more recently than their shared ancestor with rabbits, capybara, or anything else furry that you might be considering for this. There is proof if you want to investigate the sources below, but some of it's more technical than I want to go into here. I just had to share that these 4-11 pound furry creatures are related to the largest land mammal on earth.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the Hyrax and I hope you have fun telling someone else about this. I bet you'll have to look it up to prove to someone that you're not insane for saying that these adorable little creatures are real and related to elephants. I would suggest keeping this post on hand so you can use the links below if you need them, but that's just me. Have fun with it.
This is a great article! About the pee...that fact was shocking! :)
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