habitat_narrative
Terrestrial
It occurs in Steppe and savannah woodlands within the Savanna Biome. The species prefers a habitat of dense grass cover, with scrub bush and scattered trees, which is denser than areas where the Bushveld Sengi (Elephantulus intufi) is found. In some parts of their distribution Short-snouted Sengis are found on rocky hillsides (Rathbun 2005). In the North West Province, they were sampled in the Mabeskraal area and the southwestern parts of Pilanesberg National Park all within Zeerust Thornveld (Mucina & Rutherford 2006), where the specific habitat was mixed Olea spp. woodland on a pediment (Power 2014). Interestingly, they were not sampled in the Borakalalo area where one would expect to capture them based on historical occurrence (Rautenbach 1982; Power 2014). In Swaziland, it was sampled in moist savannah in an acacia thicket on an overgrazed field with compacted soil (Monadjem 1998). Generally, the nature of the ground/soil does not seem to be a factor which limits their distribution. For example; this species occurs on sandy ground or sandy alluvium or, in stark contrast, on the hard substrate of Mopane scrub (Rathbun 2005). The species has home ranges up to 0.25, and they use termitaria to escape fire (Yarnell et al. 2008), which is uncommon in most Elephantulus spp. (Rathbun 2005) and may be an adaptation to fire. Although they are sympatric with E. myurus and E. intufi, they are segregated by their habitat requirements as they prefer denser vegetation than other species (Rathbun 2005). They are omnivorous, but mostly consume insects with a small amount of fruit and seeds consumed (Leirs et al. 1995).Ecosystem and cultural services: Sengi species are thought to be included in San art and are therefore subject to local folklore.
