Twilight Zone. Jumper animal. Lifestyle and habitat of the jumper Elephant shrew

Jumpers belong to the family of African mammals and may be different sizes, there are usually three types: large, medium and small.

Depending on affiliation a certain type The body size of a rodent can vary from 10 to 30 cm, while the length of the tail ranges from 8 to 25 cm. Jumper in the photo looks very cute and unusual, but in real life it is very difficult to see because fast speed movement.

The muzzle of all jumpers is long, very mobile, and the ears of a rodent are the same. The limbs end in four or five fingers, the hind legs are much longer. The animal's fur is soft, long, the color depends on the species - from yellow to black.

This animal lives mainly on plains overgrown with bushes or thick grass, and is also found in forests. Due to their thick fur, jumpers do not tolerate heat well and that is why they look for shaded areas for permanent place life.

The forelimbs are designed so that the animal can easily dig hard soil. Sometimes this helps them create their own burrows, but most often the rodents occupy the empty houses of other steppe inhabitants.

Of course, jumpers can live not only in burrows; a reliable blockage of stones or dense branches and roots of trees are also suitable. The peculiarity of these rodents is their ability to move using all four or only two legs.

Thus, if animal jumper he is not in a hurry, he, moving all his paws, slowly moves along the ground “on foot.” However, in case of danger or when catching prey, when the rodent needs to quickly move from place to place, it rises only on its hind legs and quickly jumps. The tail, the length of which is often equal to the length of the body, is always raised up or trails along the ground behind the animal; the jumper never drags its tail behind itself.

Meet the jumper in natural environment habitat is extremely difficult, since the animal is very timid, and its mobile ears, sensitive to any sound vibrations, allow it to hear the approach of danger at a considerable distance. These rodents live in Zanzibar. In total, the jumping family includes four genera, which, in turn, are divided into fourteen species.

The character and lifestyle of the jumper

The choice of where an animal lives is determined by its belonging to a particular species. Thus, elephant jumper can live in any area, from deserts to dense forests, while short-eared jumper can feel comfortable exclusively in the forests.

Jumpers of all types are terrestrial animals. Like all small rodents, they are extremely mobile. The peak of activity occurs during daylight hours, however, if the animal is too hot during the day, it also feels good at dusk and in the dark.

Jumpers hide from the heat in any shaded places - under stones, in thickets of bushes and grass, in their own and other people's burrows, under fallen trees. You can meet both solitary jumpers and representatives of monogamous pairs.

Pictured is an elephant jumper

However, in any case, these rodents actively protect their own home and the surrounding area. In addition, in cases where jumpers live in pairs, males protect their own females from strange males, girls perform the same function in relation to strange females.

Thus, jumpers can show aggression towards representatives of their own species. Long-eared jumpers are an exception to this pattern. Even monogamous pairs of this species can form large colonies and work together to defend the territory from other animals.

As a rule, jumpers do not make any sounds, even during mating season, fights and stress. But, some individuals can express dissatisfaction or fear with the help of a long tail - they knock it on the ground, sometimes while stomping their hind legs.

Interesting fact is that sometimes jumpers live next to each other, for example, if there is not enough space in the area to create holes or there is little food. However, in this case, the rodents living nearby will not contact each other in any way, but they will not attack each other either.

In the photo there is a long-eared jumper

Nutrition

These small rodents prefer to feed. These could be ants, termites, or other small ones. However, if the jumper encounters edible greens, fruits and berries on its way, it will not disdain them, as well as nutritious roots.

As a rule, a jumper that lives permanently in one territory knows exactly where to go in order to have a good meal. For example, when hungry, an animal can leisurely go to the nearest anthill (if the insects have this moment time period of wakefulness).

Obtaining such food is not difficult - after eating enough, the jumper can settle down to rest nearby, and then continue eating, or, of course, return to its hole for a long sleep. Such power sources do not disappear from their usual location, and the jumper knows this very well.

Reproduction and lifespan

IN wildlife Some species of jumpers form monogamous pairs, others lead a solitary lifestyle, meeting with relatives only for reproduction.

Mating season dates back to late summer - early autumn. Then the process of copulation occurs in monogamous couples, and single jumpers are forced to temporarily leave their usual place of life in order to find a partner.

Pregnancy in a female jumper lasts a long time - about two months. In most cases, two cubs are born, less often - one. The female does not build a special nest in order to give birth to offspring there; she does this in the shelter that is closest at the moment or in her burrow. Jumper cubs immediately see and hear well, and have thick, long hair. Already on the first day of life they can move quickly.

In the photo there are baby jumpers

Females of this family are not known for their strong maternal instinct- they do not protect or warm the cubs; their only constant function is to feed the children with milk several times a day (and often once).

After 2-3 weeks, the babies leave their shelter and independently begin to look for food and their own place to live. After a month and a half, they are ready for procreation.

In the wild, the jumper lives 1-2 years, in captivity it can live up to 4 years. Buy a jumper You can go to a specialized pet store, but you must first create all the conditions to make you feel comfortable.

• Class: Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758 = Mammals
• Subclass: Theria Parker et Haswell, 1879= Viviparous mammals, true animals
• Infraclass: Eutheria, Placentalia Gill, 1872= Placental, higher animals
• Superorder: Ungulata = Ungulates
• Order: Insectivora Bowdich, 1821 = Insectivores
• Family: Macroscelididae Mivart, 1868 = Jumpers
• Genus: Rhynchocyon = Rufous [pied-backed] jumpers, proboscis blennies

Species: Rhynchocyon udzungwensis = Giant elephant shrew

Found in Africa giant look elephant shrews

Fur on an animal's face open view painted in grey colour, the back of the body is jet black (photo California Academy of Sciences).

A new species of elephant shrew has been found in national park Udzungwa Mountains, in Tanzania, by scientists from the California Academy of Sciences and the Trientine Museum of Natural Sciences (Museo tridentino di scienze naturali).

In fact, the Udzungwa Mountains have long been known to biologists as a place where many still unstudied animal species accumulate.

The giant elephant shrew is the fifth-largest mammal and at least the 25th-largest vertebrate discovered here in the last ten years (we talked about one of the recent discoveries here).

Elephant shrews (or the family Jumping Shrews) were named so because they resemble the appearance of ordinary shrews, and at the same time their elongated muzzle is similar to the trunk of an elephant.

By the way, relatively recently (during genetic research) it turned out that these mammals are much more related to elephants than to shrews.

They are jumpers because in case of danger they switch to jumping on their hind legs.

Elephant shrews are monogamous animals and live only in Africa.

The new species was given the name Rhynchocyon udzungwensis. It is distinguished from all others by its unusually large size. Weight Limit a “regular” elephant shrew weighs approximately 540 grams, the new kind on average weighs about 700 grams.

These strange animals were first discovered in 2002 by Francesco Rovero from Triente Museum of Natural Sciences. He told Galen Rathbun, a biologist at the California Academy of Sciences and an expert on the behavior of elephant shrews, that he had spotted a species in the forests of central Tanzania that differed in appearance from everyone else.

March 23, 2006. Francesco Rovero photographs Rhynchocyon udzungwensis inside a special enclosure at Ndundulu Nature Reserve (photo by Galen Rathbun).

At first Galen was doubtful, but in 2005 Rovero managed to take photographs of the animals. When Galen saw them, he decided to go on a joint expedition with Rovero, which took place in March 2006. Within two weeks, scientists discovered about 40 representatives of the new species.

Rhynchocyon udzungwensis is similar in size to a rabbit, there is no hair on the proboscis, the color of the fur is chestnut, the limbs are long and thin.

So far, zoologists have discovered only two populations of the new species, which live on an area (in total) of about 300 square kilometers.

Scientists also found that, like other elephant shrews, this type feeds on ants and worms, as well as other small invertebrates living in leaves and other debris covering the soil in the forest.

The elephant shrew (Macroscelidea), also known as the elephant shrew, is a small mammal native to Africa. Macroscelidea means "macro" long and "skelidos" legs. Traditionally, this animal received the name “elephant shrew” in connection with external resemblance his long nose with an elephant trunk. And the name jumper-shrew appeared in connection with the discovery of a swamp species of elephant-shrew, which has especially long hind legs. This species is one of the fastest runners among all elephant shrews; it can develop quite higher speed thanks to the long hind legs and jump higher than a meter.

For a long time, zoologists were unable to correctly classify this animal. In the past, it was classified as an insectivore, along with shrews and hedgehogs. Scientists then grouped them with tree shrews and included them in the order Lagomorpha, which includes hares and hares, and even considered them as distant relatives of ungulates, to which the llama belongs.

However, modern evidence strongly supports the elephant shrew's membership in the superorder Afrotheria, which includes proboscideans, sirenians, hoppers, tenrecs, aardvarks, and . In connection with this modern classification, began to often use a hyphen in the name “elephant shrew” and “hopper shrew” to distinguish these animals from the simple shrew.

One of the great things about the elephant shrew is that it is a living fossil. Scientists use the term "living fossil" to describe species that lived many millions of years ago. For example, the swamp elephant shrew has changed very little from its ancestor, which flourished on the African continent about 30 million years ago.

Like their ancestors, elephant shrews insectivorous mammals, which means that they are carnivores with a diet consisting almost exclusively of insects and other similar small creatures. These animals have a brownish-gray coat color. Body length varies from 10 to almost 30 centimeters, and weight from 50 to 500 g, depending on the species. Life expectancy in the wild ranges from two and a half to four years.

Jumpers feed mainly on insects, spiders, centipedes, millipedes and earthworms. To find a victim they use their a long nose, and to send food into the mouth, they use their no less long tongue, just like anteaters. Some elephant shrews sometimes add plant foods, especially young leaves, as well as seeds and small fruits.

The mating season lasts several days. After mating, the couple returns to their solitary life. The female gives birth to a litter of 1-3 young several times a year, after a gestation period of 45 to 60 days. The young are born relatively well developed, but remain in the nest for several days before venturing out of the hole into the open air. After 5 days, they already feed on insects, which the mother collects in cheek pouches and brings to them. Then gradually they begin to study environment and hunt insects yourself. After about 15 days, young jumpers begin the migratory stage of their lives, which reduces their dependence on their mother, and establish their own homes in a range of about 1 km2.

Jumpers are not found outside African continent, and most species live south of the Sahara Desert. But there are species that prefer semi-arid areas of North Africa, such as Algeria and Morocco. Some of them are found in savannas, lowland forests and mountains with dense undergrowth, while others live in thickets Central Africa and its east coast.

The elephant shrew's main predators are humans, who use it as a food source. However, the most serious threat to elephant shrews is fragmentation of forest areas, as the animals often find it difficult to move to habitats where there are more potential breeding partners and food resources.

The elephant shrew (or elephant jumper) was named so for its elongated, movable nose, reminiscent of a miniature trunk. Despite the name, this animal is not related to shrews and mostly moves by running, although it can also jump quite well. Surprisingly, elephant shrews are similar to elephants not only in appearance - they are actually relatives.

This strange beast could not be classified for a very long time. The jumper was classified as an insectivore; it was believed that it was a relative of tupai, lagomorphs, or even ungulates. But as molecular studies have shown, jumpers, like elephants, belong to the group Afrotherium. They descended from one common ancestor who lived in North Africa approximately 60 million years ago. True, the closest relatives of the jumpers turned out to be not elephants, but no less strange tenrecs, aardvarks and golden moles, which also belong to afrotheria. IN Lately elephant shrews began to be called by their African name - sengi, to distinguish them from real shrews.

flickr / Lennart Tange

Jumpers are small animals (10–30 centimeters in length) with very long tail, which may be longer than the body. Their miniature “trunk” nose is surrounded by bundles of sensitive vibrissae. On the tail, on the soles and on the chest, jumpers have sebaceous glands that secrete an odorous substance with which they mark the grass and paths in their territory. The animals carefully look after their thick fur and “comb” it with their hind paw several times a day, standing on the remaining three.

flickr/Peter Miller

Sengi live throughout almost all of sub-Saharan Africa and in certain areas of North Africa. Some species prefer savannas and deserts and are even found in the Namib Desert, one of the driest places on the planet. Others populated the rainforests. The animals feed mainly on insects, worms and spiders. If the prey is small, like ants or termites, then the jumper pulls it into its mouth with its tongue, like a miniature anteater. WITH large insects or worms are more difficult to handle: in order to eat prey a quarter or even half its height, it crushes the insect or worm with its front paw and eats from the side, much like a dog chews on a large bone.

flickr/Amara U

Jumpers are diurnal animals, their peak activity occurs at dawn and sunset, and during the day they hide from the heat and sleep in burrows or in the shade of stones or bushes. In the morning and at sunset they spend most of their time searching for food. Many species of sengi clear paths in the grass and spend a lot of time removing leaves, branches and other debris from them that impede movement. They use paths to hunt insects and escape from predators, so clear, unobstructed paths can save the jumpers' lives.

The animals are very shy (which is not surprising given their size) and at the slightest noise or incomprehensible movement they take off and run away. To escape persecution, they move in long leaps, and if necessary, they can long jump or jump up to 40 centimeters or more (several times their height).

Sengas are usually monogamous. The male and female live in the same territory (and guard it jealously), but most They stay solitary for a time, and meet only for a short time to conceive offspring. They are not at all friendly towards other relatives. If an alien wanders into their area, they first drum on the ground with their hind paws or slap it with their tail. If this does not help, the jumpers begin to run in front of the enemy on straight legs (perhaps to appear taller), and then start chasing him. Usually the intruder runs away, and the owner (or mistress) returns to his territory.

flickr/Nathan Rein

Jumpers are very silent. In addition to the “drumming” with which they drive out strangers from their territory and warn other individuals of danger, sengi living in captivity only squeal loudly when they are roughly handled, and the cubs make a chirping sound when they are hungry.

Elephant shrews are classified as a separate order, Macroscelidea. Living jumpers belong to several species, forming four genera: proboscis blenny ( Rhynchocyon), forest jumpers ( Petrodromus), long-eared ( Elephantulus) and short-eared ( Macroscelides) jumpers. Most of them are quite numerous, but some species are included in the Red Book, and the golden proboscis blenny, due to hunting and destruction of its habitat, is threatened with complete extinction.

Ekaterina Rusakova

A baby was recently born at the Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington State) rare species rodents from the elephant shrew family.

Elephant shrews or jumpers (Macroscelididae) small African mammals. Body length varies from 10-12 to 30-31.5 cm, tail 8-26.5 cm, weight - 40-540 g. The hair is long, thick and soft; The color is uniform, from sandy to brownish-black, there are spotted individuals. The head is equipped with an elongated movable proboscis. Bunches of long vibrissae grow above its base. The sensitive proboscis is used when searching for food.

Jumpers are extremely mobile. When calm, they move on four legs; when in danger, like jerboas or kangaroos, they switch to a “ricocheting” run - jumping forward and from side to side on their hind legs, with their tail extended back (for balance). Jumpers wait out the heat of the day in shelters: under stones or roots of bushes, in empty burrows of rodents or in their own shallow burrows (proboscis blenny).

Jumpers feed mainly on insects. Small species usually eat ants and termites, large ones - beetles, spiders and orthoptera, as well as small mammals, eggs and other animal foods. Some species occasionally eat green parts, seeds and berries of plants. Jumpers of many species practically do not drink water.