Animal Welfare South Africa Project #74694

Giving Hyraxes Love, Care and Protection

by DAKTARI Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage

Giving Hyraxes Love, Care and Protection

Project Report | May 4, 2026
Update about the dassies of DAKTARI!

By Felicia Hansen | Fundraising Manager

Caline!

Hello dear dassie supporter,

First of all, thank you so much for supporting our dear dassies (aka hyraxes). It really means a lot to us and to these little characters!

A little update since last time. It is baby season around the DAKTARI camp. We have two colonies of wild rock hyraxes living nearby, and recently we have spotted baby dassies in both. They are extremely shy. If you want to see one, you need to be very quiet, very patient, and move slowly. Even then, you might only see a tiny nose or two ears before they disappear again. They are clearly not ready for fame just yet.

Caline has been enjoying life as usual, especially in April when Michael Kuroda from HyraxHub on Instagram came to visit. As a real dassie lover, he gave her a lot of attention, which she fully accepted… as expected. For all of us at DAKTARI, it was also very nice to spend time with someone who understands just how special these animals are and helps share their story.
You will see in the photos that Caline is as happy as ever, often with her little tongue sticking out, which seems to be her signature look.

Eric is growing well and is now almost one year old, horray! We know he was born in May, so we are preparing a little celebration for him. There will definitely be a lot of black eyed peas involved (the favorite snack of the dassies!).

He recently had a check-up with the wildlife vet and everything is as expected. Healthy, active, and still a little bit cheeky. Lately he has been chasing one of our dogs, Calvin, for fun. Eric thinks it is a brilliant game. Calvin does not agree at all. We are doing our best to keep the peace between one very confident dassie and one very confused dog.

The weather is also starting to change. The mornings are getting cooler, and when it gets cold, the dassies quickly look for warmth. Caline goes straight for her hot water bottles, while Eric prefers a warm blanket. We even found a little knitted sweater for him, and he absolutely loved it. Warm and stylish. You can see for yourself in the attached photo.

Thank you again for being part of our dassies’ story. We will share more soon, especially after Eric’s birthday, which we expect to be taken very seriously by him.

Warm wishes from all of us at DAKTARI

P.S. Want the full hyrax experience? Come and volunteer with us! Eric and Caline live their best free life around camp, so you might find them joining your day without warning. All the details about volunteering with us are on our website HERE.

Eric tries to be helpful in the office :)

Caline by our recently planted Sausage Tree :)

Eric in his sweater a chilly evening

Caline & Eric hanging out together in the lapa

Caline and her tongue :D

Eric is ready to sleep!

Links:

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Feb 25, 2026
Eric, Caline & the Rise of the Tiny Tusk

By Felicia Hansen | Fundraising Manager

Caline and Eric <3

Dear Dassie Supporter,

First of all, thank you. Because you chose to support our hyrax project, this little update is especially for you.

This project has quickly become one of the most loved at DAKTARI. Eric and Caline have gathered a beautiful little community of supporters around them, and it means so much to us. Since you are clearly serious about your dassies, we will now send you updates every second month. We hope you will enjoy the stories and photos as much as we enjoy sharing them.

As you may know, Eric arrived in December 2025 after being found alone and undernourished. He had likely been picked up by a bird of prey and dropped too far from his group to find his way back. After attempts at rehabilitation elsewhere failed, he came to us at DAKTARI.

Caline, our resident queen, was… suspicious.

She looked at him as if to say, “Who is this small noisy creature and why is he in my space?” Eric, of course, had no doubts. He immediately behaved as if he had always lived here. Slowly, very slowly, Caline started to accept him. Now we often find them sitting together in the sun, bum against bum, completely relaxed. Peace has been negotiated.

Fun fact: hyraxes are more closely related to elephants than to rodents. Yes, these tiny fluffy creatures share evolutionary history with the largest land animal on Earth. And if you look closely at Eric’s mouth, you will understand why.

Yesterday Eric lost a tooth. Do not worry, this is perfectly normal. He is losing his milk teeth and starting to grow his little tusks. You can already see them coming in the photo. Tiny elephant ambitions in progress. Our baby is officially becoming a teenager.

And teenager is the correct word. Eric is now our little adventure explorer. He runs, climbs, investigates everything and tests boundaries daily.

Caline remains as wonderful as ever. She still prefers the office life and often chooses to stay inside more than Eric. However, something interesting happens in summer. Fruit season. Suddenly our office queen turns into a tree climber. She loves fruits and has been climbing more and more. It is very good exercise for her, and we fully support her fitness journey.

Both Eric and Caline are completely crazy about black-eyed peas. We have tried other beans, but they are simply not impressed. If you would like to try their favourite snack at home, buy a bag of dried black-eyed peas, soak them in water for three hours, and voilà, you have the perfect hyrax snack.

Beyond being irresistibly cute, Eric and Caline play an important role in educating the children who visit DAKTARI. Through them, the children learn about biodiversity, respect for wildlife, and the importance of protecting even the smallest creatures in our ecosystem. These little creatures help us spark curiosity, empathy and environmental awareness in the next generation.

Thank you again for being part of their story and for loving these extraordinary little elephant relatives with us. We look forward to sharing more adventures very soon.

If you are ever interested in supporting our wider mission to educate and inspire children to value their environment and stimulate community development, we always warmly welcome new volunteers. You can read more about how to get involved here!

With warm gratitude from all of us at DAKTARI

Eric's growing teeth!

Caline and Michele :)

Relaxing

Caline says hi!!

Eric's tusks has really started to grow!

Links:

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