Wildlife
Tenrecs are a remarkable family of mammals that has recently been shown to share a common ancestry with aardvarks, elephants and sea cows. They have diversified to include members resembling hedgehogs, mice and even otters. They occupy an equally varied array of habitats, but are most numerous and diverse on the island of Madagascar, with a few of the 30 species dotted around the African mainland. Tenrecs were first filmed by Sir David Attenborough for the 1960s Zoo Quest series and more recently the lowland streaked tenrec was caught on camera for his 2010 Madagascar series.
Did you know?
Among mammals it’s a species of tenrec that holds the record for most babies in one go, having as many as 36 in a litter.
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Homing beacon
Specialised quills give hedgehog-like striped tenrecs a unique way of finding their family.
Specialised quills give hedgehog-like striped tenrecs a unique way of finding their family.
Tenrec tactics
Primitive mammals with various defence strategies.
Tenrecs are extraordinary. They are possibly the most primitive living mammals. They also have the record for the most babies, 36 in one go. Some have spines for defence. Others have no spines, and instead bite to defend themselves. The large ones also hibernate, getting very fat before they do. This makes them very tasty to the local people who hunt them with dogs. The large tenrec eats earthworms. The tenrec's nearest relative is found in Cuba and Haiti. This clip was first broadcast in 1961.
Chemical warfare
The tenrec's nose is sensitive to a soldier termite's defence mechanism.
A long-eared tenrec hunts for termites in Madagascar. The termites squirt noxious chemicals at it and eventually it has to leave the termite tunnels to get some fresh air.
Spineless species?
Tenrecs are prickly but symbolise cowardice.
David Attenborough finds tenrecs under a dead log. They resemble hedgehogs, but are not related. They only live in Madagascar. The locals regard them as cowardly creatures, since they roll into a ball when frightened. Back at London zoo the female gave birth to a litter, but killed several of them. The remaining babies were hand-reared. This clip was originally broadcast in 1961.
The Tenrecs can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Madagascar. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
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Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
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The Tenrecidae (common name tenrecs) are a family of mammals found on Madagascar and parts of Africa. Tenrecs are widely diverse; as a result of convergent evolution, they resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, mice and even otters. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial and fossorial environments. Some of these species, including the greater hedgehog tenrec, can be found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests.
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David Attenborough's Madagascar
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Helpless young
Tactile sense
Adapted to running
Viviparous
Miocene epoch
Pliocene epoch
Pleistocene epoch
Holocene epoch