Three unique hedgehog-like mammals have made their debuts at Chester Zoo.
The spiky newcomers, known as tenrecs, are the first of their kind to ever be seen at the zoo.
Found in Madagascar and parts of the African mainland, tenrecs closely resemble hedgehogs but in fact, they are unrelated.
Dave White, team manager at the zoo, said: “Although our new arrivals might look very similar in appearance to hedgehogs, they’re actually not related. They have merely evolved the same method of defence – rolling up into a ball so that would-be predators are met with their coat of spines.
“This is a great example of convergent evolution, a process by which animals that are not related independently evolve to have similar traits to one another - a result of having to adapt to similar environments.”
Lesser hedgehog tenrecs mostly feed on insects and are found in southern and southwestern areas of Madagascar, where wild populations are steadily declining as a result of severe habitat loss on the island.
Mr White added: “The tenrec, like much of Madagascar’s unique wildlife, is coming under more and more pressure for survival as their forest habitat disappears to make way for fields of rice and other crops.
"There’s a rapidly growing but extremely poor population in Madagascar who are themselves pressured into clearing forests in order to set up new farmland. Sadly, it’s impacting greatly on the species that are only found on the island."
But he went on to say that Chester Zoo was working out in Madagascar to help protect the forests where these incredible species live.
"We’re engaging local communities and, working with our conservation partner Madagasikara Voakajy, we’re helping locals to develop new techniques for growing crops that don’t involve the destruction of the forest.
“In January, a team of 12 from the zoo also travelled to Madagascar to carry out a range of other conservation activities including habitat restoration and running camera trap studies. The work is helping towards the creation of a conservation action plan for a host of threatened species there.
"Our aim is to ensure there’s forever a home in the wild for remarkable animals such as the tenrec.”
