When is a shrew not a shrew (or an elephant)?

Writer: Anina Lee.

My weekly article in The Village NEWS is a pleasure to write. To start with, I generally know very little about most topics – just enough to think it may be interesting. To quote my favourite physicist, Richard Feynman, “it’s the pleasure of finding things out”.

So I start casting around tor anything that catches my attention. But this time, I did not need to look for inspiration – it came looking for me.

The Karoo Roundeared Elephant Shrew (Macroscelides proboscideus) is neither an elephant nor a shrew. Although they look a lot like long-nosed mice, they are not even closely related to rodents.

Anyone who has had toddlers knows that if things are too quiet, it usually means trouble. Something similar holds true for cats. If they stare fixedly, apparently at nothing, you can be sure it’s something. This was exactly what caught my eye. On inspection, the cats had cornered a tiny little mouse-like animal with a very long nose.

The Cape Rock Elephant Shrew (Elephantulus edwardii) is a lighter grey, has more prominent ears and larger, white-ringed eyes.

PHOTO: Reddit

The Karoo Roundeared Elephant Shrew is found in the desert and semi-desert regions of southwestern South Africa.

It would appear that an unrecorded population is also living in Fernkloof Nature Reserve.

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 16)