The Naked Mole-Rat

 Have you ever watched a cartoon called Kim Possible? It was one of Uncle Gideon’s favorites. Her boyfriend had a pet called a naked mole rat. It sounds funny, but there actually is an animal called a mole-rat.

Mole-rats are not rats, nor are they moles either. They are more closely related to hamsters. They live in a country in Africa called Kenya and in a place called the Horn of Africa. Mole-rats live in underground burrows in a group called a colony. Colonies can average around 70-80 individuals. They can be as large as 300! They even have a queen.

They have large teeth which help them dig all their tunnels. Underground you will find the queen mother and lots and lots of babies. Here they find large tubers (kind of like potatoes) that they eat for food. They have a kind of bacteria in their stomach (kind of like a cow) that help them digest the tubers. Scientists call this relationship “symbiosis”.

They have very little hair and tiny eyes and cannot see well. They try to stay hidden underground so they can avoid being eaten by snakes, badgers, and hawk-like birds.

Mole-rats would not make very good pets, but they are kind of cute. Here is a video about them.

That’s all for today. Until next time.

Love Papaw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_mole-rat