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Species Name: Zanzibar Rufous Sengi (Elephantulus rupestris zanzibaricus)
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The sengi, or elephant-shrew, is a small, poorly understood animal found only in Africa. Traditionally considered as part of the insect-eating order Insectivora, elephant-shrews were elevated to their own order Macroscelidea as DNA sequence data became more available during the 1990s.
Six species of sengi are known to occur on the African mainland. Five of these belong to the genus Elephantulus: E. fuscipes, the checkered sengi, which ranges from Kenya to southern Africa; E. myurus, the bushveld sengi, found in northeastern South Africa and Swaziland; E. intufi, the eastern rock sengi, occurring in central and eastern South Africa; E. rufescens, the dark-footed sengi, which ranges from Angola to Tanzania; and E. revoili, Revoil’s sengi, which is presently known only from the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania.
The Zanzibar rufous sengi, Rhynchocyon petersi, is in a different genus to the other sengis. Its closest relatives are two species confined to West Africa — the golden-rumped sengi R. chrysopygus and the checkered sengi R. cirnei — rather than the other sengis in Tanzania. The other two species of sengi that occur in Tanzania are members of the generally poorly known scandentia or plesiungulate sengis, and may not even be true sengis.
The Zanzibar rufous sengi (elephant-shrew) is a terrestrial mammal that belongs to the order Macroscelidea. The sengi exists only in a few remote forest fragments in eastern Tanzania and in the Zanzibar archipelago. Until recently, the conservation status of the Zanzibar sengi was unknown and they were considered to be all one species. Dr. Galen Rathbun, from the California Academy of Sciences and Galen Wildlife, has dedicated nearly 20 years to study and protect the elephant-shrews. Through extensive research and molecular analysis, it was discovered that there are two distinct species of sengis in Kenya and in the Usambara and East Usambara mountains in Tanzania. The grey-faced sengi was found in Kenya and Rathbun describes his newest discovery, the Zanzibar rufous sengi, in the Pemba Channel island and at 24 possible sites in coastal Tanzania, south of the Tana River. The isolated populations in the Tana River area are critically endangered due to deforestation, fuelwood collection, and slash-and-burn farming inside the forests which has resulted in habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. Now that Dr. Rathbun has a better understanding of the distribution and conservation status of the sengi, he can effectively protect sengi habitats which include the remaining coastal forests at the Tana, Amani, Tongwe, and Zaraninge Forest Reserves.
The Rufous Sengi is not an indigenous species of Zanzibar. In fact, it’s a very recent visitor. It’s only been on the islands for about 12,000 years. It’s thought to have arrived from a tiny island called Tofu (now part of Mozambique), which is about 320 km to the west of Zanzibar. The Rufous Sengi made the journey when the sea levels were much lower than they are today and somehow managed to cross the Zanzibar archipelago channel.
The Rufous Sengi wouldn’t have managed this incredible journey if it wasn’t for its incredible adaptation to being a fast mover. Compared to most other mammals, the Rufous Sengi has very long legs. This gives it a very efficient stride, and it’s easy to see how it can move 4 times faster than its average mammal counterparts. Also, the length of the hind legs are all at the back, which gives the Rufous Sengi an odd gait, and it prefers to move by hopping or bouncing like a tiny antelope. This fast movement enables it to escape from predators or shake off rivals. It can occasionally outrun a snake!
Best place to see them up close and personal is on the Pemba Channel Conservation Area. This is a small, uninhabited island located about 6km off the western coast of Zanzibar. Here you will find the Department of Zoology and the friendly chaps who are researching their behaviour. They will be more than happy to show you where they have been capturing Sengis and allow you to release them! When stepping out of the boat onto the island you are highly likely to see Sengis as they are more or less free from predation here. They are prolific in the area around the research centre and are very easy to find in the early morning or late afternoon. Other good locations include Ngezi Forest Reserve on Pemba Island and Zanzibar Butterfly Centre. Sengis are difficult to find in dense, closed-canopy forest and are fairly common on Zanzibar in areas of secondary or coastal “coral rag” scrubland.