noun
- Plural of dassie; small, stocky mammals native to Africa and the Middle East, resembling rodents but more closely related to elephants and sea cows.
Usage: Also called rock hyraxes or rock rabbits; Common in African wildlife contexts
Examples
- The dassies huddled together on the rocky outcrop to stay warm.
- Safari guides pointed out several dassies sunbathing on the cliff face.
- Dassies are surprisingly agile climbers despite their compact size.
- The park is home to a large population of dassies.
- Unlike rodents, dassies have hooflike nails on their feet.