Mole rats (genus)

The body is 23-30 cm long, the tail is short. There are no auricles, eyes are atrophied, hidden under the skin (hence the name). The limbs are short; hands and feet are not very wide. The claws are quite large, but much smaller than those of the zocors . The coat is short, but thick, very soft, without lint. All feelings, except for lack of vision, are well developed. Special elongated tactile hair grows near the mouth, on the cheeks, forehead, belly and back of the body.

Mole rats are found in Europe , Western Asia and North Africa . They inhabit the steppes, forest-steppes and deserts.

The mole rats lead an underground lifestyle, digging complex burrows up to 250 m long, to a depth of 3.5 m. The mole rats do not dig, but gnaw through the ground with powerful front incisors. In this case, the lateral folds of the lips behind the incisors close and tightly close the mouth. They push the gnawed soil under themselves. Having accumulated a bunch, the mole rat turns and wide, like a shovel, pushes the soil through the gut to the surface with its head. When the heap on the surface becomes large enough, the rodent closes the knot, and digs a new one near the dead end. At least during the day, residential burrows are always closed. The mole rats do not place food supplies in special chambers, but in segments of ordinary courses several meters long. Having filled the segment, the mole rat walled it up with soil on both sides. There are up to 10 such “pantries” in each hole.

The feed is mainly the underground parts of plants: roots, rhizomes, bulbs and tubers. They can also eat aerial parts of the plant, which are dragged into the hole by the root.

Mole rats breed, most likely, once a year - at the end of winter or at the very beginning of spring. In a litter of 1-3 (most often 2) naked cubs weighing 5 grams, growing very fast. The young growth has left the mother and digs its own holes.

Single animals. Adult mole rats always live in separate burrows. They are very careful and almost never fall into the traps set by man.

May be harmful to crops, especially in vegetable gardens and household plots . Land emissions can impede field work (especially mechanized mowing of perennial grasses for hay), and also spoil field roads. In connection with the underground way of life, the fight against animals is difficult (mainly mechanical traps and repelling devices are used) and often ineffective.