A small, furry mammal native to Africa and the Middle East, resembling a guinea pig or rabbit but actually more closely related to elephants and manatees.
From Afrikaans 'dassie,' derived from Khoi languages. The word has become the standard English term for these animals, also called rock hyraxes.
Dassies are one of nature's most surprising examples of evolutionary relationships—genetically they're closer to elephants than to the rodents they resemble, making them a living puzzle of animal classification!
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