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Elephant Shrew

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The elephant shrew is a small-sized mammal that is found exclusively in Africa. The elephant shrew is also known as the jumping shrew, as elephant shrews can hop like rabbits using their long back legs.

Elephant shrews can be found inhabiting forests, jungles, grasslands and dense woodland all across Africa. There are nearly 20 different species of elephant shrew, all of which vary in both colour and size.

Elephant shrews are known as insectivores as they survive on a diet that is solely comprised of insects. Despite their name and similar appearance, elephant shrews are not thought to be directly related to their shrew cousins in other parts of the world.

Elephant shrews are very active animals and are always out hunting for food during the day. Due to the diurnal lifestyle of the elephant shrew, it has learned to live it's life in the most successful ways possible. Elephant shrews are very wary and well camouflaged animals, and are able to run away from danger extremely quickly.

A number of elephant shrew species make a series of cleared pathways through the undergrowth and spend their days patrolling them for insect life. The pathways also give the elephant shrew a clear-run home should it become disturbed by a potential predator.

Although elephant shrews are omnivorous animals, the diet of an elephant shrew is nearly completely made up from insects. The elephants shrew hunts worms and grubs from out of the ground, spiders that run along the ground and insects that are found all around it.

Due to the small size of the elephant shrew, it has a number of natural predators in the wild. Snakes, lizards, birds of prey and omnivorous mammals all prey on the elephant shrew, but the elephant shrew is not the easiest meal to try and catch.

Female elephant shrews give birth to more than 1 litter of babies every year. The baby elephant shrews are born after a gestation period that can be between 1 and 2 months long. Baby elephant shrews are well-developed when they are first born but remain in the nest for a few days before they begin to head in the big wide world.

Elephant Shrew Comments (1)

josh

"they look like ant eaters"

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Elephant Shrew Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Mammalia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Macroscelidea
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Macroscelididae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Elephantulus

Scientific Name:	Elephantulus
Type:	Mammal
Diet:	Omnivore
Size (L):	10cm - 30cm (4in - 12in)
Weight:	50g - 500g (2oz - 18oz)
Top Speed:	13km/h (8mph)
Life Span:	2 - 5 years
Lifestyle:	Solitary
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	Black, Brown, Grey, White, Tan
Skin Type:	Fur
Favourite Food:	Insects
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Forest, woodland and grassland
Average Litter Size:	2
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Insects, Worms, Spiders
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Snakes, Lizards, Birds of Prey
Distinctive Features:	Long nose and long back legs