Though it looks more like your pet guinea pig, experts believe the hyrax gets its origins from a much larger animal–the elephant.

Though it is said to be the elephant’s nearest living relative, the hyrax is placed in a separate order (Hyracoidea). It is called the elephant’s closest relative because it has similarities in some bones.

The hyrax, also called a rock rabbit, is a small furry mammal. They have four stumpy toes on each front foot and three on each back foot. The longer, clawlike nails on the inside toes of the back feet are used for grooming and scratching.

The bottoms of the feet have a rubber-like texture for climbing steep rocks and trees.