Mammals

Elephant Shrew

 

The Eastern Rock Elephant Shrew (Elephantulus myurus)  is found in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland and rocky areas.Elephant Shrews mainly eat insects, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and earthworms. An elephant shrew uses its nose to find prey and uses its tongue to flick small food into its mouth, much like an anteater. Eating large prey can pose a challenge; an elephant shrew struggling with an earthworm must first pin its prey to the ground with a forefoot. Then, turning its head to one side, it chews pieces off with its cheek teeth, much like a dog chewing a bone. This is a sloppy process, and many small pieces of worm drop to the ground; these are simply flicked up with the tongue. Some elephant shrews also feed on small amounts of plant matter, especially new leaves, seeds, and small fruits

 

 

 

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