[4] Like other members of the genus Rhynchocyon, it is a relatively large species, with adults averaging about 28 cm (11 in) in length and 450–700 g (16–25 oz) in weight.

[1] However, its numbers are reportedly declining; suffering from severe forest fragmentation and degradation from human expansion.

[6] It eats insects such as beetles, termites, and centipedes, using its proboscis to dig them from the soil and its tongue to lick them up.

[8][9] It typically builds ground level nests for shelter[9] requiring dry leaf litter[3] often at the base of trees.

For example, two black and rufous sengi males were born on February 4, 2007, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., which no longer keep the species.