Rock Hyrax at a Glance
Despite its guinea-pig looks, the rock hyrax, or dassie, is a distant relative of the elephant. It is a small, stocky mammal adapted to life among boulders and cliffs, with short ears, no visible tail, rubbery soles for grip and a scent gland in the middle of the back. In Kruger you are most likely to see dassies basking on warm rocks close to crevices and vegetation.
Rock Hyrax, also known as dassies, are animals that enjoy rocky outcrops and rocky hillsides. The best time to see them is during the early mornings or late afternoons when they sit out on the rocks warming themselves in the sun. One of the best areas in the Kruger National Park to look for them is around the rocky outcrops near the Masorini Ruins close to Phalaborwa Gate.
- Mary-Anne Finlay - Tour Guide Since 2006 (THETA Registration No: GP 2432)
Dassies occur widely across Southern Africa, including much of South Africa and the western parts of Namibia, and locally in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique wherever there are rocks. Beyond the region they live across most of Africa wherever there are cliffs and boulders, apart from the Congo Basin, and on into the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, rock hyrax are widespread and locally common in rocky habitat. Numbers vary with region and food, but the species is stable in Southern Africa and a frequent sighting on Kruger’s koppies and rocky outcrops.
Habitat
Dassies favor granite boulders, cliffs and broken rocky ground with crevices to hide in. They eat leaves, grass, shoots and fruit. In Kruger they live on rocky rises within savanna and grassland, with lookout rocks for basking and watching for danger.
Social Organization
Dassies live in groups based around safe shelter, usually with several related females, their young and one or more adult males. Groups bask together and share shelters, and lookouts on high rocks sound the alarm when danger approaches.
Finest Safari Areas in Africa for Encountering Rock Dassie
Dassies are easy to see on rocky outcrops; Camdeboo’s Valley of Desolation and Golden Gate’s sandstone cliffs are good places to find them basking.
Social Behavior
Groups spend the morning basking on exposed rocks between short bouts of feeding close to shelter. Lookouts give sharp alarm calls when they spot danger. Dassies seldom feed far from the rocks, so they can dash back into a crevice quickly.
Reproduction
Dassies mature at about 16 months. In Southern Africa most mating takes place from February to April. Litters of 2–3 are usual, born after a gestation of about seven months. The dominant male mates with several females in the group.
Anti-Predator Behavior
The main predators are leopard, caracals and large eagles, especially Verreaux’s eagle. At the first alarm, dassies dash into narrow crevices that larger predators cannot enter.