. Two round-eared, or Sengis, elephant-shrews also know as Macroscelides proboscideus, have made their first appearance at Chester Zoo, England. They have charmed people with their cute expressions. These tiny mammals that feed on insects, roots, shoots and leaves and can live for a period of 56 years, were first born in the summer of 2015, at the Zoo. They are kept in an exclusive breeding facility, which is not available to the public. These tiny animals aren’t thought to have any direct connection to their cousins, the shrews from other regions of the globe. These creatures are actually closer to elephants than to aardvarks. The round-eared elephant shrew is related to the elephant, which weighs 157,000 times more. Image: Chester Zoo. Round-eared elephant shrews have the rare distinction of having the same mate throughout their lives. James Andrewes is the Chester Zoo Assistant Team Manager. He said that although they might appear like an elephant, their new additions are actually distantly related to manatees. The species used to be known as an elephant-shrew in the past. However, many biologists now refer to them as “sengi” to avoid confusion with real shrews. There are actually nineteen species of sengi. This is despite the fact that they are not well-known in the wild. A new species has been discovered in Namibia last year. Macroscelides proboscideus is between 30 to 45 g (1.6-2 oz.) in weight and measures approximately four inches long, which makes it one of the smaller 19 species in the Macroscelididae family. You can find them in forests, scrublands and deserts in South Africa and Botswana. Visit Chester Zoo’s Secret World of the Okapi to view them. About Chester Zoo Chester Zoo is an zoological park in Upton-by-Chester (Chery, Northern England). It’s operated by North of England Zoological Society. TripAdvisor ranked it the top zoo in Britain, and 7th globally for July 2015. Grey brown fur with white underside is the sengi. The tip of its flexible nose is where the nostrils can be found. (Image: Chester Zoo). In 1931., George Mottershead OBE and his families opened Chester Zoo. After being taken to Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Manchester in 1903, by his father, he was disgusted at the small confinements of these animals. His goal was to build a zoo without bars. He experimented in aviaries and tanks as a teenager, while also creating runs for reptiles. Chester Zoo is a private facility that receives no funding from the government. It covers an area of 125 hectares (51. The total area of the Chester Zoo is 400 acres (160 Hectares. The 2014, zoo was visited by more than 1.4million people, making it the top-visited attraction for wildlife in the country. Forbes Magazine described it as being one of the best fifteen zoos worldwide in 2007. Video: Round-eared elephantshrew
