The hyrax is a strange creature, right down to their Ancient Greek name meaning “shrew-mouse.” They are an animal that is both familiar and very weird, as if somebody tried to draw a capybara from a distant memory. Zoologically speaking, their lineage only intensifies the strangeness that makes them a goldmine for content. Per YouTube channel Bizarre Beasts, their closest relatives in the animal kingdom are not the furry rodents we might expect, but rather elephants and sea cows, aka manatees. Also, their concentrated urine fossilizes and can be used to assess historical environmental data.
These wild attributes aren’t front and center when it comes to their internet presence, though, which is focused primarily on appearances, weird and relatable. Key to their appeal is the screaming sound they make, which is featured in the majority of popular hyrax videos and is phonetically spelled as “Awawa.” Some hyrax fan pages almost exclusively refer to the animals as “Awawas” or “the Beast” when they want to add emphasis.
Coupled with this is their appearance. Whether eating a vegetable with enthusiasm, stacking themselves on top of one another, or doing suggestive things with their tongue, there is an endless supply of goofiness that lends itself to a widely DMed image or viral reel.
Their lore is more simplistic than the popular cast of characters that could be found in the world of LOLCats, with hyrax memes often blending each example of the character into one single example of an “Awawa” (a notable exception is the “freaky hyrax,” whose tongue action sets him apart from the herd). Also, their “Awawas” and other assorted noises are no match for the complex rules of an established English dialect. That being said, the basic building blocks of anthropomorphism and the sheer volume of content centered around a subculture dedicated to one species remain parallel to one another.
The enjoyment of hyrax-related content is, without a doubt, limited to a considerably smaller audience than the phenomenon that was LOLCats, whose influence notably inspired everything from an off-Broadway musical to a LOLspeak Bible translation. Still, the shape of the appeal and popularity of hyrax content is a direct descendant of this cultural shift. LOLCats only achieved their iconic status after escaping containment on 4chan.
While meme culture has expressed some intermittent interest in hyraxes through things like early viral YouTube videos and the occasional image macro, their current spell of internet fame can be traced to a number of dedicated Instagram pages, and, to a lesser extent, TikTok. Being far more video-based than their static predecessors, they exemplify more of a show-don’t-tell attitude to humor.
While it’s not difficult to identify some key differences, the vital similarity that allows for the hyrax’s acceptance of the LOLCat crown is how their followers interact with them and consider their place in the messy hierarchy of all things memetic.
Over a decade ago, LOLCat researcher Kate Miltner described how LOLCat fans both appreciated the genre for its ability to “express a range of emotions… in a variety of situations” and, as one LOLCat user she interviewed explained, “the internetty part, not the cute part. Like the speak.” We could argue that the simple “awawa” is evidence of a meme culture that appeals to a much more brainrotted attention span than LOLspeak, but it similarly acts as a password into the subculture of sharing hyrax-related content.
It could be argued that both LOLCats and hyraxes are the perfect example of content suited for “pebbling”— a practice named after the mating rituals of Gentoo penguins where males bring females pebbles. It’s the art of sending random things you find on social media to your loved ones because they remind you of them or you think that they would enjoy them.
This is a broad brushstroke definition that could be applied to pretty much anything entertaining that people care to send to other people, including the glut of animal content. However, the hyrax operates more closely to the LOLCat model than the others.
It’s not focusing on a singular animal internet celebrity, like Moo Deng or Grumpy Cat, but it still encourages a kind of fandom that sustains their popularity and encourages the creation of different kinds of hyrax content that deepens their personality and by extension, the capacity to deepen relationships with their humor.
Weird enough to charm even the most wizened troll, but also cute enough to send to your normie work friend or your mom. Hyraxes operate in a sweet spot that can be difficult to find today, despite the overwhelming variety of amusing animals that now bless the internet.
An audience who has witnessed many more levels of internet culture than during the height of the LOLCats has formed cultlike popularity around this little-known species. Despite this, they operate from the same winning formula of cuteness mixed with novelty and a hefty dose of ridiculous behavior that can create a sense of community with others. The medium of the message comes with a heck of a lot more “awawas”, but the appeal remains the same.
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