First Black and Rufous Elephant Shrews Born at Prague Zoo

As with other species of elephant shrew, the black and rufous elephant shrew has a strikingly elongated snout resembling a trunk, which is almost constantly moving. Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo’s director, said, “It is not necessarily well-known and distinctive animals that give us sensational breeding successes. The young black and rufous elephant shrews are a shining example of this. I believe that thanks to the current breeding programme, another part of the public will see the charm of these fascinating creatures and new admirers will stop by to observe the sengi on their way to see the gorillas or elephants.”

The twins were born at the end of June, but it is only now that visitors can see them in the Africa Up Close pavilion. Being diurnal, they are active all day. Last week it was confirmed that they are a male and a female.

Jaroslav Šimek, Prague Zoo’s zoological deputy, said, “The first indications about the young being here were the sounds and changes in the female’s behaviour. The parents raise their offspring in a nest, so the keepers cannot easily see them. The young are born with hair and can see. They then develop quite remarkably fast - within a few weeks they switch to a solid diet and become sexually mature.”

The elephant shrew exhibit is full of vegetation and fallen leaves. They are used to using their excellent sense of smell to find food in the leaf litter, especially invertebrates. They dig them out with their conspicuously elongated, prehensile snout resembling a trunk. If they can't grasp their prey in their teeth, they lick it up with their tongue.

The young can be seen in the indoor exhibit in the Africa Up Close pavilion. The female is in the foreground, the male in the rear. Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

Talking about their behaviour, Pavel Brandl, the mammal curator, added that they spend the night alone, “At night, they create a nest similar to a simple burrow, which they line with fallen leaves, for instance. After a few days, they build a new nest. In the wild, black and rufous elephant shrews form monogamous pairs with a common territory that the male protects, but he only meets the female during the mating season.”

Elephant shrews have many predators and their only protection is their well-developed senses and hind limbs that give them a quick start and allow them to run quickly. The long legs can do this due to their elongated and fused tibia bones.

The black and rufous elephant shrew is endemic to a small area of the Eastern Arc Mountains on the border of Kenya and Tanzania. They are very rare in European zoos. Prague Zoo first started breeding them in 2019.