Swiss Zoo Welcomes Adorable Little Elephant Shrew Found In Only 13 Zoos Worldwide
This is the moment a black and rufous elephant shrew explores its new enclosure after arriving at a Swiss zoo making it one of only 13 zoos worldwide that are home to the adorable little animal.
The black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi) was born in November 2020 and transferred from the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands to Basel Zoo in Switzerland.
In a statement obtained by Newsflash, Basel Zoo said: “We are delighted that we are now one of the 13 zoos in the world that one of these ‘curious animals’ can call home.”
The little one has slender legs, a small body and a striking snout that it uses to sniff out any treats that might be hidden beneath the fallen leaves in his new enclosure.
Since Elephant shrews are very shy animals, the zoo used paper to partially cover the little one’s enclosure thus allowing it to hide away and get comfortable.
The shrew is going to feed on insects bred at the zoo including earthworms, grasshoppers and crickets.
The zoo gave more details about the new arrival saying: “The shrew lives in dense forest areas in Kenya and Tanzania in coastal regions, as well as in mountain forests on the mainland and the offshore islands of Zanzibar.”
The shrews vary in size from about 10-30 centimetres (3.9-11.8 inches) and in weight from 50-500 grammes (1.8-17.6 ounces).
The animal sleeps at night covering itself under leaves for protection and during the day it uses it along snout to detect food on the forest floor.
Once it sniffs something out it uses its paws to dig into the earth and then picks up the food using its tongue.
The shrew is small but very protective of its territory usually building itself a nest using leaves and twigs and then marking the territory repeatedly throughout the day.
In addition, the Elephant shrew is a loner that lives a solitary life and only spends time with other members of its species during mating season.
According to the IUCN, the Black and rufous elephant shrew is relatively common and widespread throughout its range.
Although the species is not endangered they are elusive in nature and rarely sighted.
