Tenrecs are a remarkable family of mammals that has recently been shown to share a common ancestry with aardvarks, elephants and sea cows. They have diversified to include members resembling hedgehogs, mice and even otters. They occupy an equally varied array of habitats, but are most numerous and diverse on the island of Madagascar, with a few of the 30 species dotted around the African mainland. Tenrecs were first filmed by Sir David Attenborough for the 1960s Zoo Quest series and more recently the lowland streaked tenrec was caught on camera for his 2010 Madagascar series.

Did you know?
Among mammals it’s a species of tenrec that holds the record for most babies in one go, having as many as 36 in a litter.


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