RUFOUS SENGI More Life
Video: Watch a sengi outwit a hungry lizard.
Quiz: Take the "Race Like a Sengi" quiz. HowStuffWorks: Which animals kill the most people in the wild? A lightning-quick mouselike creature makes it home in the dry savanna, desert or tropical shrublands of Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan and other East African nations, as well as parts of Botswana and South Africa. Whether it's called a rufous elephant-shrew, an East African long-eared elephant shrew or simply a rufous sengi, the speedy mammal is plentiful. Its small, lightweight body measures between roughly 4 inches (10 centimeters) and 6 inches (15 centimeters), and its tail can stretch just as long. In the wild, the sengi will be lucky to reach more than a year and a half in age.
Living alone, in pairs or in small groups, the rufous sengi has a long, flexible, ever-twitching nose often compared to an elephant's snout, although in miniature. Large ears and eyes surrounded by white rings complete the package. These furry animals mate monogamously. They're precocial, meaning that their young are developed and active from birth. And what an active life they lead.
ALWAYS FAMISHED
Rufous sengis burn a lot of energy because they're tremendously busy creatures. Consequently, they are always hungry, but they must combine that appetite with the savvy it takes to stay alive. To save time and energy, sengi think tactically; they create interlinked trails throughout their hunting grounds, making it easier to find and catch the worms, termites and other insects they feed upon. These trails look much like man-made trails, only far smaller. The paths are cleared of brush and stones, often with twigs and the like lying on either side of the trail, demarcating it. A rufous sengi not only is familiar with these trails; he or she memorizes them.
ESCAPING PREDATORS
As the "Mammals" episode of Life points out, the trails also help rufous sengis outwit their predators. Not only does the female rufous sengi pictured know the trails, she also is quite fast — owing to having her legs directly underneath her, like most mammals — and agile. The lizard chasing her, while fast in his own right, doesn't know the intricate route and can't keep up. Sengis manage to do the same when pursued by other frequent antagonists, such as snakes.
Sengis' intelligence and resourcefulness can also be found in their choice of accommodations. Rufous sengis often take over abandoned rodent burrows, saving themselves the effort of creating their own. Why waste time in such a short and speedy life?
Written by Jacob Silverman, HowStuffWorks
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