Zoo Welcomes 3 Pups Closely Related to Elephants

Meet Spud, Russ, and Jackie, three tiny furballs born at Chester Zoo in September who are rewriting our understanding of how animals are connected. These rock hyrax pups weigh just 12 ounces each, but their family history includes some of the biggest animals on Earth.

Rock hyraxes look like rabbits or guinea pigs, but they belong to the same evolutionary group as elephants, dugongs, and manatees. The connection sounds wild, but the clues are hiding in plain sight.

"Their long front teeth are a little bit like miniature elephant tusks, and their feet have some resemblance to elephant feet, with flattened hoof-like nails," explained zookeeper Megan Carpenter. Looking at these potato-sized pups, it's hard to imagine their distant cousins tip the scales at several tons.

The three pups were born to parents Maris and Albert at the nonprofit Chester Zoo, which has championed conservation efforts since 1934. The zoo now houses 30,000 animals representing more than 500 species, many of them endangered.

Zoo staff have nicknamed the energetic trio "little chaos potatoes." While their parents calmly wedge themselves into corners and grip rock faces for hours, Spud, Jackie, and Russ zoom around testing their climbing skills and mastering parkour moves.

In the wild, rock hyraxes live among rocky outcrops and cliffs across Africa and the Middle East. Their rounded shape and russet fur help them blend perfectly into their rugged habitat, making them easy to miss until you know what to look for.

Why This Inspires

These surprising family connections remind us how much wonder still exists in the natural world. Evolution created these relationships over millions of years, branching and changing until a tiny shrew-like ancestor eventually led to both massive elephants and 12-ounce hyraxes.

The link between vastly different animals isn't unique to hyraxes either. Scientists recently discovered that bats share closer genetic ties with cows, pumas, and whales than with other small mammals. All placental mammals trace back to a common ancestor that lived at the end of the Cretaceous period.

"That's what makes species like hyraxes so interesting," said Lyndon Howson, the zoo's assistant team manager. "They challenge what we think we know about the natural world and show just how surprising animal evolution can be."

The three pups recently received clean bills of health from veterinary staff and will eventually grow to about 8 pounds. For now, these "little chaos potatoes" are teaching visitors that in nature, appearances can be wonderfully deceiving.