Hyraxes

About

Hyraxes, also known as Rock Hyraxes or Dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals native to Africa and the Middle East most known for their characteristic vocalizations and small size. Hyraxes gained major meme attention in 2024 when viral videos about them surfaced en masse on TikTok and YouTube. Some of the earliest discovered viral hyrax content dates back to 2007. Hyraxes sparked memes because of their high-pitched sounds and comedic antics, similar to other animals like Capybaras or, more generally, Dogs and Cats.

Online History

The earliest discovered viral video about a hyrax was shared by YouTuber^[1] briancupit on August 7th, 2007, titled, "Talking Rock Hyrax." The video showed a hydrax making high-pitched noises characteristic of the species. Over 17 years, the video received roughly 157,500 views and 1,600 likes (shown below).

Viral hyrax videos continued to surface on YouTube^[2] in the early 2010s.

On June 5th, 2018, Cheezburger ^[3] posted a compilation of viral hyrax photos and videos.

On September 22nd, 2018, Redditor^[4] illproper shared a hyrax meme to /r/whatisthisthing, gaining over 11,000 upvotes in six years (shown below).

In early 2024, Instagram pages dedicated to Hydrax memes surfaced en masse. For instance, on February 11th, 2024, Instagram^[5] user @hyraxheaven shared a You Better Not Be X meme about being a hyrax, gaining over 19,200 likes in nine months (shown below).

On July 7th, the official TikTok^[6] account of the San Antonio Zoo posted a video of hyraxes at the facility, gaining over 6.5 million plays and 908,700 likes in four months (shown below).

Viral videos about hyraxes continued to surface on TikTok in the following months. For instance, on September 23rd, 2024, TikToker^[7] @cooperlsdumb posted a Core video about "Hyrax core," receiving over 2.2 million plays and 299,600 likes in two months (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References