Description:

The black wildyrax (Wildyrax niger) is a species of hyrax that evolved to take the medium-sized migratory niche of the now-extinct wildebeest (Connochaetes sp.). With the extinction of most traditional antelopes in mainland Africa, many mammals began to fill their niches. The ungulahyracoids evolved to fill the medium-sized antelope niches in Africa. This group evolved from the small rock hyrax (Procavia capensis). Fossils have shown these lineages first evolved goat-like adaptations to evolve in the highland conditions of South Africa about 10 myh. Eventually, this lineage began to colonize the lowlands and open areas, evolving to fill the role of generalist grazers. Although quite successful in Africa, this group is endemic to the continent. Their restricted global range is due to their relatively poor thermoregulation compared to other placental mammals. This trait restricts their range to the tropical and hot desert climate zones, stopping at the Sahara Desert. It also has caused several behavioral adaptations to combat this limitation (see Social Behavior on this page).

The black wildyrax is dark grayish-brown with a darker coat of hair on the back. These coats of fur overlay a series of oil glands. These glands lubicerate the hair, making them slippery to the touch. This trait makes it difficult for predators to grab the rear. It has three toes on each foot, converging on the ungulate's foot plan. The wildyraxes also have two horns near the end of the head, above the snout. These horns are similar to bovids, being outgrowths of the skull covered in keratin. They use their horns for both infraspecific combat and interspecific defense. This hyrax species also has a boxy head and a strong neck designed for ramming into each other.

Distribution:

These mammals live in the open plains, grasslands, and grassy rolling hills, Since they are nomadic and migratory, their habitat does not remain static throughout their lives.

Diet:

These hyraxes are grazers, with most of their diet consisting of grasses. They will occasionally shrubs and leaves but aren't a major part of their diet. They also drink water often but not as much as modern-day wildebeest.

Social Behavior:

These hyraxes are social herding animals living in large herds of up to a million animals. These large herds tend to have smaller family subgroups with a head male, a group of females, and their offspring. Males often fight for their respective females, with the winning male gaining some of the females. These herds together to find food across the African savanna. Throughout their journey, they must deal with the various predators of the Congo Savannah, diseases, and natural barriers, such as rivers, barren lands, and hills. These migrations are done year-round, with them traveling to different locations where food is plentiful. Many wildyraxes end up dying across the voyage, which provide various nutrients to the soils, carnivores, and decomposers. They also have to deal with the dropping temperatures during the night. These animals huddle together during the night to maintain their body temperatures during the cool nights. This huddling behavior has only been observed in arid areas, where the temperature drops significantly more than in the tropics. 

Mating and Reproduction:

Females usually produce one to two calfs a year. They have a gestation period of six months, and they often don't breed immediately after giving birth. As previously mentioned, males are in control of a group of females. The males only mate with the females in their groups. After giving birth, wildyraxes raise their calves until they reach a year old. After this period, they are forced out of the subgroup. This system prevents both inbreeding and competition among offspring and the parent. The latter mostly applies to males and the former to females. Due to their large population sizes, interbreeding is quite rare with this system.