Southern tree hyrax
Dendrohyrax arboreus
Key identification features
All hyraxes are small, rabbit sized brown animals with short ears, short legs and without a visible tail. The tree hyraxes are densely furred except for a naked dorsal patch and they have elongated hand and feet. The southern tree hyrax has a 23-30 mm naked patch and cream coloured dorsal fur. HB 40-60 cm. Wt 1.8-4.5 kg.
Habitat and social behaviour
Southern tree hyraxes live and forage in trees in forest and moist savannah. All tree hyraxes are nocturnal and territorial. They are usually scattered singly or in small groups though they can occur in high densities.
Similar species
The rock and bush hyrax lives in colonies between the rocks and are active during the day. The tree hyraxes are nocturnal and live solitary or in small groups in trees. The different species of tree hyrax are distinguishable by the length of their naked dorsal patch and the colour of the dorsal fur. The East African tree hyrax has reddish brown dorsal fur instead of cream coloured. The western tree hyrax has a bigger naked patch 42-72mm and white dorsal fur.
Distribution Map
See also
East African tree hyrax · Rock hyrax · Bush hyrax · Western tree hyrax