In honor of the UN’s International Day of Families, we present the hyrax–a species with a rather surprising family tree. These furry mammals are often mistaken for rodents, but they’re more closely related to the elephant and manatee. Hyraxes even sport tusk-like incisors like their elephant cousins. To stay warm, they spend much of their time sunbathing, an activity which makes them vulnerable to predators. But even hyrax families look out for one another—and a male hyrax will stand guard to watch for potential threats.
Celebrating the UN’s International Day of Families
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Museum Mile Festival
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Windmills in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands
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How lovely are your branches
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Happy World Photography Day!
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Is this Minecraft headquarters?
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Happy Astronomy Day!
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Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia
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A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
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Sutherland Falls in Fiordland National Park
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Up on the glacier
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Honoring the fallen
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The Battle of the Bulge 75 years later
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World Poetry Day
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Let the Highland games begin
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A wild and scenic scene
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Summer solstice
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Nursing the world to health
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National Fossil Day
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Portland celebrates its bounty
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Is there a bug-egg emoji for this?
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Bear cubs roughhouse on Siblings Day
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Lucian Blaga National Theater, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Seville celebrates first world tour
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A visit to Limerick on Limerick Day
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Paradise, found
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Keep watching the skies
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The village of Castelluccio above the Piano Grande, Umbria, Italy
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Saksun, Faroe Islands, Denmark
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The Bahamas as seen from the ISS
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Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland