It was so hot in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve that this rock hyrax was just slung out on a rock in the shade, trying to chill..
The Procavia capensis are mammals but their body temperature is not constant; it changes according to the ambient temperature.
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More about hyrax, including one in an ancient mosaic, in my winter post about Ein Gedi.
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The cute critter is joining all kinds of other animals this weekend at the Camera-Critters meme.
Go have a peak at them.
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I enlarged the picture to see it. It must be hot there. I bet it is also dry heat. No humidity.
ReplyDeleteAsk yourself!
Of all the places in the world the good lord had to pick Jerusalem and vicinity. I wonder why he didn't choose Hawaii?
I had to enlarge the picture to find him, too.
ReplyDeleteI had to enlarge the photo to see him! And are those roots that look like power cords stretching across the ground?
ReplyDeleteGreat photo! I couldn't find it at first, but then I went to wikipedia and saw that it was a kind of mouselike animal. When I returned I could easily find it.
ReplyDeleteOh so cool! Kind of reminds me of a mongoose without a tail.
ReplyDeleteAwww! Poor thing must be hot to just be hanging on a rock in the shade.
ReplyDeleteAbraham, yep, it's hot and dry, but that's why our antiquities are so well preserved until they are dug up.
ReplyDeleteThere is something very spiritual about being in the desert. I don't think Hawaii would have produced the prophets and monks that the desert produced.
But Abe, I love the way you wonder about things!
Katney and Wil, the hyrax averages 50 cm in length and 2.5 kg weight.
Sara, haha, I think that is part of the irrigation system (only at the little park at the entrance to the wilder nature reserve).
Eileen, it was around 40 C, I think.
ReplyDeleteKay, but a lot cuter than the mongoose. At home a mongoose once came and stood up, looking into my screen door. Remember that post?
Wow....never saw one of these before. Very educational for me.
ReplyDeleteMy CC---She's not a NINJA turtle!! I do hope you can stop by to visit with me.
Have a great weekend.
How funny, I nearly posted a hyrax today too. I love them, they're so cute :).
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It is hot when the little guy who fluctuates with the temperatures has to come out and get into the shade. Cute critter, I have heard of the name of the animal but I don't think I have ever seen one before now.
ReplyDeleteSquirrels do that too. I didn't know about their body temp. I just always figured (and was never taught) that certain mammals are different with body temps. Great post!
ReplyDeletehttp://meeyauw.blogspot.com/2010/07/camera-critters-117-tractor-chicken.html
Me too, seeing one for the first time. How hot and as you say deserts are full of treasures.
ReplyDeleteI haven't found "hyrax" in the dictionary and at the first glance neither the critter in the photo. However, it's a sort of mouse, really interesting, Dina.
ReplyDeleteI need my rock here!
ReplyDeleteThey really blend into their environment and are an excellent example of natural camouflage.
ReplyDeleteI've seen these guys at the Rift Valley and also at the Table Mountain (Capetown), they are so cute! Do you know hyraxes are the closest animals related to elephants? Hard to believe, right? :-)
ReplyDeleteCute creature!
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