h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

These are really endearing critters

also I can run as fast as a Sengi - I know this because at Bristol zoo you run a certain distance and your pace is measured by sensers, it tells you your speed and a corresponding animal

Thank you for adding to my knowledge of them

Hello there Peanut! I'm happy you liked the critter and the article about it. These things are wonderfully endearing to me. I saw some many years ago with my father ... not this particular species as I explain, but a related one, of the genus Elephantulus. That means little elephant! Isn't it cute to imagine that these are in fact of the same stock as elephants, only they remained small?! The ones I saw were quite small, the size of mice, and it was on a game farm over here very close to the northern border along the Limpopo River. The farmer had cleared brush and put the cut branches into piles ... and the sengis were using these as shelters! Every time we came upon a pile we stopped and watched and sure enough, they'd pear out at us and twitch their little noses! They'd vanish in a jiffy if we should make any movement.

I wonder what kind of sengi would run as fast as you do?

You might enjoy this video. What they call a 'rufous sengi' there is just this species the article is about, the four-toed elephant shrew/sengi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5QJaznkqjM

And here's a video with silly music added:

http://vimeo.com/10310168

And here's a video of one of the so-called giant elephant shrews bounding along:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=jqmhPYPzjkk&NR=1

Those are great videos! Amazing mousie.

I can so imagine that, them peeking out and twitching their noses and how stock still you would have to be. They are very cute,

*imagines herself holding breath, desperately sucking in an awww, being very still*

Thanks for that Willem, the extra knowledge but also the experience of them with your father, dunno, with my words and all, just makes it more special

I don't which one I ran like, but I am going to say, a fast one, and my free running is as elegant as that shown in the youtubes

*cough* *splutter*

no I don't run with me elbows out all over place and all