HYRAX

Climbing to its perch in the morning sky, the African sun reaches across a mountain range to caress a wide, flat boulder, baking it to a gentle heat. From the shade of a narrow crevice, a family of hyrax emerges, hot dust dulling the sheen of their golden fur. They settle onto the warm expanse of rock to partake in their ritual sunbath, but remain ever vigilant. As the heat from sweltering sun intensifies, ancient aromas are coaxed from the scorched rocks, sparse vegetation and petrified hyraceum. Eerily, they intertwine to form a scent that is both primitive and exotic.