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.
Tree hyraxes feed on the ground as well as in trees.
All the species habitually work their jaws in a manner reminiscent of cud chewing. Generally these animals are not limited in their distribution by a lack of water to drink. They sometimes travel more than 1.3 km for food. Hyraxes are preyed on mainly by rock pythons, eagles, and leopards. Hyraxes, referred to in the Bible as conies, are in an order that originated in Africa and evolved for some time before the Oligocene.