Rock hyrax
Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766)
The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), also called the dassie or rock dassie, is a mammal of the order Hyracoidea and the family Procaviidae. It is a medium-sized animal with an adult body mass of 3.03 kg, and it is a diurnal, terrestrial herbivore.
Quick facts about the rock hyrax
The rock hyrax is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 2.03 kg – 3.03 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 14 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 14.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 210 days – 240 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 16.4 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the rock hyrax
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the rock hyrax live?
Not recorded
What is the rock hyrax?
The rock hyrax (; Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Rickaz, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, or coney (in early English Bible translations), is a medium-sized terrestrial hyrax native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly called the dassie in South Africa (; Afrikaans: klipdassie), it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus Procavia.
Rock hyraxes weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb) and have short ears.
Rock hyraxes are found at elevations up to 4,200 m (13,800 ft) above sea level in habitats with rock crevices, allowing them to escape from predators. They are the only extant terrestrial afrotherians in the Middle East. Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group. They have been reported to use sentries to warn of the approach of predators. Having incomplete thermoregulation, they are most active in the morning and evening, although their activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate.
Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest.
From the Wikipedia article “Rock hyrax” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_hyrax&oldid=1384099241), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the rock hyrax endangered?
The rock hyrax is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the rock hyrax classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderHyracoidea
- familyProcaviidae
- genusProcavia
- SpeciesProcavia capensis (Pallas, 1766)
Synonyms Cavia capensis, Heterohyrax antineae, Heterohyrax brucei antineae
Other names and names in other languages (55)
- DassieEnglish
- DassieEnglish
- Rock dassieEnglish
- Rock dassieEnglish
- Rock hyrax.English
- KlipdasAfrikaans
- KlipdassieAfrikaans
- وبر صخريArabic
- Капскі даманBelarusian
- Damà roquerCatalan
- daman skalníCzech
- KlippegrævlingDanish
- KlippdachsGerman
- KlippschlieferGerman
- WüstenschlieferGerman
- ΑκρωτηρύραξGreek
- Ύραξ των βράχωνGreek
- Damán de el CaboSpanish
- KalliotamaaniFinnish
- Daman du CapFrench
- Daman de rocherFrench
- Daman des rochersFrench
- ShaphanHebrew
- שפן סלעHebrew
- !Aushgm
- Daman kamenjarCroatian
- Planinski pećinarCroatian
- fokföldi szirtiborzHungarian
- Irace del CapoItalian
- Procavia del CapoItalian
- Procavia delle rocceItalian
- ケープハイラックスJapanese
- 바위너구리Korean
- PelaMultiple languages
- ImbilaMultiple languages
- MbilaMultiple languages
- KappklippegrevlingNorwegian Bokmål
- Gewone KlipdasDutch
- Kaapse KlipdasDutch
- ThobelaNorthern Sotho
- ThewbelaNorthern Sotho
- góralek skalnyPolish
- Góralek przylądkowyPolish
- Damão-do-caboPortuguese
- Hirax-das-rochasPortuguese
- Hírax-das-rochasPortuguese
- Капский даманRussian
- KlipphyraxSwedish
- PimbeSwahili
- ไฮแรกซ์หินThai
- Güney Afrika DamanıTurkish
- pela ya majeTswana
- mbileTsonga
- Даман капськийUkrainian
- 蹄兔Chinese
Relatives of the rock hyrax
Other species in the same genus Procavia.
CompareRock hyrax vs Hyrax alpiniRock hyrax vs Hyrax burtoniiRock hyrax vs Procavia buchanani
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a rock hyrax?
The rock hyrax is a mammal of the order Hyracoidea and the family Procaviidae. It is also called the dassie or rock dassie.
How heavy is a rock hyrax?
An adult rock hyrax has a body mass of 3.03 kg, which places it in the medium size class.
What does a rock hyrax eat?
The rock hyrax is a herbivore.
Is the rock hyrax endangered?
No. The rock hyrax is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a rock hyrax live?
The rock hyrax has a lifespan of 14 years, with values up to 14.81 years reported.
How many young does a rock hyrax have?
A rock hyrax has 2 to 4 young per litter and one litter per year, after a gestation period of 226.4 days.
Who named the rock hyrax?
The rock hyrax, Procavia capensis, was named by Pallas in 1766, written as (Pallas, 1766).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-hyrax
“Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-hyrax.
@misc{rock_hyrax_2026,
title = {Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-hyrax},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}