Rock Elephant Shrew
Rock Elephant Shrew spoor is identified like this: tiny tracks showing four toes on the front and five on the hind feet. Despite their name, rock elephant shrews are not true shrews but are more closely related to elephants, manatees, and aardvarks.
Spoor Signature
Rock Elephant Shrew
"Tiny tracks showing four toes on the front and five on the hind feet. The animal hops, leaving paired tracks."
Spoor Profile
| Species | Rock Elephant Shrew |
|---|---|
| Group | Small Mammals |
| Track signature | Tiny tracks showing four toes on the front and five on the hind feet. The animal hops, leaving paired tracks. |
| Activity pattern | Small mammal tracks are subtle and short-lived. Fine river sand and the smoothed edges of gravel roads hold the clearest imprints. |
Field Wisdom: Rock Elephant Shrew
Knowing the animal makes reading its spoor far easier. These field notes explain the behaviour behind the tracks you find.
- 1
Despite their name, rock elephant shrews are not true shrews but are more closely related to elephants, manatees, and aardvarks.
- 2
They possess a highly flexible, trunk-like snout used to probe deep into rock crevices to sniff out insects and small invertebrates.
- 3
To survive the harsh African sun and predators, they maintain a network of cleared pathways through the rocks, allowing them to bolt to safety with incredible speed.
- 4
They are strictly monogamous and maintain long-term pair bonds, patrolling their rocky territories together to defend their home against intruders.
- 5
When tracking rock elephant shrews in Kruger, field guides look for tiny, four-toed hind footprints and scattered, rice-grain-sized droppings left at designated latrine sites along granite koppies.
- 6
During the scorching midday heat of the Kruger summer, these diurnal mammals drastically reduce their activity, retreating deep into shaded rock fissures to avoid thermal stress.
- 7
Within Kruger National Park, they are almost exclusively restricted to exfoliating granite outcrops and sandstone ridges, particularly within the Lebombo mountains and the central granite saturation zones.
- 8
Beyond their primary pair bond, rock elephant shrews communicate territorial boundaries using scent glands located on their chests and feet, regularly marking prominent stones along their pathways.
- 9
Avian predators like Verreaux's eagles and Gabar goshawks pose the greatest threat from above, while snakes such as the cape cobra represent a constant danger within the rocky labyrinths.
- 10
Visitors hoping for a sighting should cut their vehicle engines near sun-drenched rocky outcrops during the early morning hours and patiently watch for sudden, ricocheting leaps across the boulders.
Identification Protocol
- 1
Analyze the substrate. Soft river sand near Skukuza will provide deep, clear imprints, while hard northern mopaneveld soil requires looking for shallow "ticks" or claw marks.
- 2
Look for the stride length. A walking Rock Elephant Shrew will leave a regular, repeating pattern. Changes in gait often signal proximity to water or recent predator interaction.
Compare Similar Spoor
Spoor that trackers routinely compare against Rock Elephant Shrew prints in the field: