Elephant Shrew Facts

Elephant shrews are small mammals which are primarily found in Africa. They prefer to make homes in warm places such as deserts. Elephant shrews are pretty fast runners. In fact, they are some of the fastest mammals living on earth.

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Elephant Shrew Facts for Kids

1. 

   Courtesy of Lennart Tange/Flickr.com https://www.flickr.com/photos/lennartt/7973324982 Creative Commons 2.0

   Elephant shrews have got a couple of different names like jumping shrews and sengis.

2. They are the permanent residents of Africa. Shrews are found in Namib Desert.
3. Elephant shrews makes homes in a variety of warm habitats such as deserts.
4. They are nearly the size of opossums or rodents.
5. They possess pretty long legs which help them to run fast.
6. Depending on species elephant shrews range in size from 10 to 30 cm and weighs 50 grams to as much as 500 grams.
7. Elephant shrews eat earthworms, centipedes, insects, millipedes, and spiders. Like anteater, elephant shrew also uses its long tongue to flick insects.
8. They have a lifespan of about 2 to 4 years in the natural habitat.
9. Elephant shrews are quite active during daylight hours.
10. They are one of the fastest land mammals reaching the speed of  28.8 kilometers per hour (17.9 mph).
11. There are 19 species of elephant shrews.
12. The female will give birth to 1 – 3 young babies.