In February 2009, the Small Mammal House welcomed a baby black and rofous giant elephant-shrew (whew, that’s a mouthful!) to its growing menagerie. The newborn was hidden in a secluded nest for three weeks but now it can be seen scampering alongside its parents.
So what exactly is an elephant-shrew? Interestingly enough, it’s neither an elephant nor a shrew. When Western scientists first discovered the species in the nineteenth century, they wrongly classified them alongside shrews. Later on, biologists learned that elephant-shrews descended from an ancient mammal that lived in Africa over 100 million years ago. This is why some scientists call the species by a new name—the sengi.
Native to eastern Kenya and Tanzania, black and rofous giant elephant-shrews are among a handful of mammal species that form monogamous relationships. They live only in forests and dense woodlands and are listed as vulnerable to extinction.
The first pair of elephant-shrews arrived at the National Zoo in 2007. According to Zoo keeper Ashton Shaffer, the best time to view the baby elephant-shrew is either first thing in the morning or around three o’clock in the afternoon.
