Naked MoleRat Facts
Naked MoleRat Facts
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| Interesting Naked MoleRat Facts: |
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| Naked mole rat can reach 3 to 3.5 inches in length and 1.2 to 2.8 ounces of weight. It has rat-like tail that is usually 1.1 to 1.7 inches long. |
| Wrinkled pinkish skin of naked mole rats is covered with around 100 hairs on the head and tail. These hairs function as sensory organ which facilitates orientation in the dark underground environment. |
| Naked mole rats have long incisors that grow throughout the whole life. Incisors can move independently and act like a chopsticks. |
| Naked mole rats have small eyes and poor eyesight, but they have excellent sense of smell, hearing and touch. |
| Naked mole rats live in complex underground tunnels that stretch 2 to 3 miles in length. |
| Burrows have separate chambers that are used for eating, nursing, storing of food and elimination of waste (toilets). |
| Naked mole rats consume roots, tubers and rhizomes which provide both nutrients and water. |
| Naked mole rats form colonies of 20 to 300 individuals. They live in organized society with established hierarchy (like ants). |
| Each colony has its own queen, workers and guards. |
| Members of the colony can recognize each other by smell. They wallow in the feces stored in collective "toilet" and have the same body odor. |
| Naked mole rats fight fiercely against intruders and predators (such as snakes). In the case of danger, guards will form defensive wall that is made of piled bodies and expose their big front teeth. They will emit alarm calls to inform other members of the group about upcoming danger. |
| Queen mates with several males and produces offspring couple of times per year. When she dies, remaining females fight (to death) for this prestigious position. |
| Newly selected queen will start to stretch vertebrae in her backbone. This unusual behavior ensures increase in size and length. Queen becomes larger and longer than other members of the group. |
| Queen can deliver large number of babies (up to 27). She will nurse them during the first month of their life. After couple of months, youngsters will get their new duties and they will become active part of the colony. |
| Naked mole rat can survive more than 20 years in the wild. These animals are very healthy and even resistant to cancer. |
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