Giant blind mole-rat facts for kids
The giant blind mole-rat (scientific name: Spalax giganteus) is a type of rodent. It belongs to the Spalacidae family. This amazing animal is found only in the North Caucasus area of Russia. It lives underground in burrows it digs with its strong teeth. Its main food is roots and tubers.
Quick facts for kids Giant blind mole-rat |
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Spalax
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| Species: |
giganteus
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Contents
Where the Giant Blind Mole-Rat Lives
The giant blind mole-rat lives in the North Caucasus region. This includes Chechnya and southern Kalmykia. This area is located between the northern parts of the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
Its home range is smaller than 50,000 square kilometers (about 19,300 square miles). Even within this area, you won't find them everywhere. They live underground in burrows. These burrows are found in damp, sandy soils. They prefer areas like semi-deserts, river valleys, and open plains. You can also find them in places with shrubs or reeds. Sometimes, they live in disturbed or farmed soils too.
How the Giant Blind Mole-Rat Behaves
The giant blind mole-rat is active all year long. It spends most of its life underground. It lives in the burrows it digs. Scientists believe these animals are monogamous. This means a male and female usually stay together as a pair.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Breeding usually happens in December and January. Female mole-rats typically have two or three young at a time.
Digging and Eating
The giant blind mole-rat uses its large incisor teeth for two main things. First, it uses them to gnaw on its food, which includes roots and tubers. Second, it uses these same teeth to dig its burrows.
Their teeth grow all the time. Because of this, they need to grind them down. This keeps the teeth sharp and useful. They do this by rubbing their upper and lower teeth together. They move their lower jaw up, down, and forward in a cycle.
Conservation Status
The giant blind mole-rat is not found everywhere in its home range. Its actual living area is thought to be less than 37,000 square kilometers (about 14,300 square miles). The sandy desert areas where it lives are not very useful for farming.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) keeps track of animal populations. They once listed this mole-rat as "vulnerable." However, they now list it as a "least-concern species" on their Red List of Threatened Species. This means it is not currently at high risk of extinction.
