elephant shrew

Elephant shrews are terrestrial and are active during the day.

Eating large prey can pose somewhat of a challenge for the elephant shrew.

Elephants shrews are very common in Southern Africa but seldom seen.

Throughout these countries, they are the second most widespread species, following the short-snouted elephant shrew.

Based on where these four-toed elephant shrews live, their main diets can vary.

Outside the primates it is known only in bats and the elephant shrew, an insectivore.

Elephant shrews resemble shrews but are not related to them.

Comprising five species, they resembled today's elephant shrews.

The elephant shrew generally varies in size from about 10 to 30 cm (3.9 - 11.8 in).

When four-toed elephant shrews fight, they usually fight in pairs of the same gender.

However, the body length of the four-toed elephant shrew is less variable, 19 to 23 cm (7.5 - 9.0 in).

Ants react to this sound, which helps the four-toed elephant shrew to locate its prey.

Four-toed elephant shrews have good senses of sight, smell and hearing, but their vocal capacity is not well developed.

Four-toed elephant shrews eat much like anteaters; they flick small foods into their mouths.

Some elephant shrews also feed on small amounts of plant matter when available, especially new leaves, seeds, and small fruits.

Checkered elephant shrews will mate for life.

Elephant shrews are among only a handful of monogamous mammals, making them a model group for the study of monogamy.

The four-toed elephant shrew has a long, pointed, flexible and sensitive snout, which it uses to hunt.

The golden-rumped elephant shrew is classified as endangered because of its highly restricted and fragmented environment.

Elephantulus is a genus of elephant shrew in the Macroscelididae family.

This elephant shrew can range up to 0.75 kg (1.7 lb) and a length of 0.6 m (2.0 ft).

Four-toed elephant shrews are heavily dependent on rich leaf litter composition for their food and nests.

Some also regard the elephant shrews and aardvarks as part of it, although these two order are traditionally seen as primitive ungulates.

Elephant shrews are not highly social animals, but many live in monogamous pairs, which share and defend a home territory they mark using scent glands.

Short-eared elephant shrews inhabit the dry steppes and stone deserts of southwestern Africa.