Each has four roots, and the lower ones bear two crescents, as in the corresponding teeth of rhinos and horses. The skull is stout and the roof is flattened. The elevational range of the family is sea level to 4,500 meters. Hyraxes move quickly and are extremely agile on rugged and steep surfaces, running and jumping with skill and gaining traction by means of specialized foot pads and probably the inner claw on the foot. This claw is apparently also used to groom the hair.
Hyraxes travel on the sole of the foot, with the heel touching the ground, or partly on the digits.
The terrestrial forms are similar in habits to the pikas, Ochotona, sheltering in colonies of 5 to about 50 individuals, usually among rocks. They are active mainly during the daylight hours and are fond of basking in the sun and rolling in the dust. They are less gregarious than the terrestrial forms and are usually more tractable. Hyraxes have acute sight and hearing. They feed mainly on vegetation and are both grazers and browsers.