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For the very first time in the United Kingdom, two black and rufous sengis—commonly called elephant shrews—have been born. These tiny African mammals weighed just 30 grams (about an ounce), roughly the size of a standard AA battery, at birth. Initially, their keepers at Hertfordshire Zoo in Broxbourne did not notice the arrivals, with the births only being confirmed later through a review of overnight CCTV footage.
Despite their former classification as shrews, these animals are more closely related to elephants, manatees, and aardvarks, which led to their official reclassification as sengis in 1998. The Hertfordshire Zoo described this successful breeding as a major achievement, noting that only a few black and rufous sengis currently live in the UK. This milestone represents an important success not just for the zoo but for the zoological community at large.
Native to the forest floors of Kenya and Tanzania, adult sengis weigh around 700 grams (1.54 pounds) and can run at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour (25 kilometers per hour). The parents of the newborns, named Nuru and Mala, recently arrived at the zoo within the past few months. Tyler Whitnall, managing director of Hertfordshire Zoo, expressed his excitement about the event: “To have the first-ever black and rufous sengi birth in the UK is an incredible feeling.” He praised the care given by the zoo’s team, attributing the quick and successful breeding to their world-class efforts.
Whitnall also mentioned that the babies are growing very quickly and already exhibit the energetic and curious behavior seen in their parents. Currently, the newborn sengis are under close observation by the zoo’s veterinary staff. Although they spend most of their time in their nesting area for now, it is anticipated that they will soon be visible to visitors in the coming weeks
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