Rock hyraxes build dwelling holes in any type of rock with suitable cavities, such as sedimentary rocks and soil. In Mount Kenya, rock hyraxes live in colonies comprising an adult male, several adult females, and immatures. They are active during the day, and sometimes during moonlit nights. The dominant male defends and watches over the group. The male also marks his territory. In Africa, hyraxes are preyed on by
leopards,
Egyptian cobras,
puff adders,
rock pythons,
caracals,
wild dogs,
hawks, and
owls.
Verreaux's eagle in particular is a specialist hunter of hyraxes. In the Middle East, the rock hyrax is reportedly rarely preyed upon by terrestrial predators, as their system of sentries and reliable refuges provides considerable protection. Hyrax remains are almost absent from the
droppings of
wolves in the
Judaean Desert.
Feeding and foraging Hyraxes feed on a wide variety of plant species, including
Lobelia They also have been reported to eat insects and grubs. They are able to go for many days without water due to the moisture they obtain through their food, but quickly dehydrate under direct sunlight. Despite their seemingly clumsy build, they are able to climb trees (although not as readily as
Heterohyrax), and readily enter residential gardens to feed on the leaves of
citrus and other trees. The rock hyrax also makes a loud, grunting sound while moving its jaws as if chewing, and this behaviour may be a sign of
aggression. Some authors have proposed that observation of this behavior by ancient
Israelites gave rise to the misconception given in the
Book of Leviticus 11:4–8 that the hyrax chews the cud,
Social behavior Group structure Hyraxes that live in more "egalitarian" groups, in which social associations are spread more evenly among group members, survive longer. In addition, hyraxes are the first nonhuman species in which
structural balance was described. They follow "the friend of my friend is my friend" rule, and avoid unbalanced social configurations. The balance of social interactions within a group is positively correlated to individual longevity, meaning that "it is not the number or strength of associations that an adult individual has (i.e. centrality) that is important, but the overall configuration of social relationships within the group." The reason for such a balanced group configuration, rather than one that is centrally dominated by a few individual hyraxes, was suggested to have to do with the fact that information flow to all members is important in a fragmented habitat as that of the hyrax, making a dominance hierarchy a liability for the survival of the group at large. More recently, researchers have found rich syntactic structure and geographical variations in the calls of rock hyraxes, a first in the vocalization of mammalian taxa other than primates, cetaceans, and bats. Higher-ranked males tend to sing more often, and the energetic cost of singing is relatively low. A recent study found that snorts, a rare aspect of male hyrax songs, play an important signalling role as well, with increasing snort harshness being associated with "the progression of inner excitement or aggression". It is also positively associated with the singing animal's social status and testosterone levels. Singing has also been shown to be a marker of an individual hyrax's unique identity, where identity is expressed by unique vocal signatures "that are not condition dependent and are stable over years in singers that did not alter their spatial position."
Resting The rock hyrax spends roughly 95% of its time resting.
Dispersal Male hyraxes have been categorised into four classes: territorial, peripheral, early dispersers, and late dispersers. The territorial males are dominant. Peripheral males are more solitary and sometimes take over a group when the dominant male is missing. Early-dispersing males are juveniles that leave the birth site around 16 to 24 months of age. Late dispersers are also juvenile males, but they leave the birth site much later, around 30 or more months of age. ==Names==