Plan
Introduction
1 Appearance
2 Distribution
3 Conservation status
4 Lifestyle
5 Reproduction
6 Natural enemies
7 Relationships with people
Introduction
Common mole rat ( Spalax microphthalmus ) - a mammal of the genus Mole rats of the Rodent family, leading an underground lifestyle.
1. Appearance
Relatively large rodent(body length of adult individuals is 20-32 cm, weight up to 700 grams or more). The body is elongated, cylindrical, without a pronounced neck. The limbs are greatly shortened, the tail is reduced and hidden under the skin. The head is flattened, wide (wider than any part of the body), and shaped from above to the bayonet of a shovel. The eyes are largely reduced and hidden under the skin. The outer ear is presented in the form of a small cushion hidden under the fur. The nasal section is covered with a bare horny sheath and is usually colored black or brown. The front incisors are large, protruding far beyond oral cavity and clearly visible. The general tone of the fur color is pale-grayish-brown; there is significant color variability between individual individuals.
2. Distribution
The distribution area is the steppe and forest-steppe zone of Russia and Ukraine between the Dnieper and Volga. Southern border range is limited Caucasian ridge. Distributed in areas occupied by herbaceous vegetation, in forested areas does not go far deep, although it is found on the edges, in forest belts, in clearings and along forest roads. In plowed areas, the population size decreases, individuals concentrate on hay and pasture lands, near ravines, and on the boundaries between fields.
3. Conservation status
Regular, enough numerous species, generally not in need of protection, with the exception of local, isolated populations mainly in the northern part of the range. From anthropogenic factors, the population of the species is negatively affected by plowing of land, the use of land reclamation and plant protection products.
4. Lifestyle
The animal leads an exclusively underground lifestyle, coming to the surface in in rare cases. Creates an extended, highly branched system of burrows, usually consisting of two tiers, of which the most extensive is the upper “feeding” one at a depth of about 20-25 cm. In addition to the feeding tier, it creates a system of summer and winter nests, as well as food storage facilities, connected by a second, more deep (up to 3-4 meters) layer of passages. When digging passages, the animal loosens the soil with the help of incisors, then discards it with its paws and subsequently moves it to the soil surface, where characteristic so-called. “Mole rats” are heaps of discarded earth of significant size (about 50 cm in diameter, the weight of discarded earth in one mole rat is about 10 kg). The feeding area of one adult individual is 0.02-0.09 hectares, the length of feeding passages varies widely and can be up to 450 meters or more per individual. Population densities also vary widely, reaching 20 or more individuals per hectare. In a long-term context, the population density is quite stable and is not subject to sharp fluctuations. The optimal population density is 3 individuals per hectare; if the population drops to 1.8-1.1 individuals per hectare, there is a high risk of population degradation. A change in population size is possible with a significant change in conditions external environment, in particular, negative impact are caused by droughts, periods of increased moisture, as well as plowing of land. The common mole rat is a strictly herbivorous animal; its diet is based on rhizomes, bulbs and tubers of plants. In spring and early summer, the above-ground parts of plants (stems and leaves) are also actively used for food. The range of forage plants consists of several dozen species, among which Compositae, Umbelliferae and legumes predominate. By winter, the animal makes large (more than 10 kg) reserves. The animal is active all year round, does not hibernate, although by winter its activity decreases sharply. On a daily basis, they are most active at night and in the afternoon. Adult individuals live separately, showing strong aggression towards relatives (if retreat is impossible, clashes usually end fatal). At the same time, the population has a certain social structure, consisting of family groups (male and 1-2 females), the burrows of which are connected or located nearby. Family groups are stable and disintegrate only with the death of one of the partners. About half of the males live outside family groups, thus being excluded from the breeding process. Mole rats live quite a long time for rodents, average duration generation is 2.5-4 years, some individuals live up to 9 years. The survival rate of young animals is high, about half or more of the individuals.
5. Reproduction
Only one female breeds in a family group each year; if there are two females in the group, then in the spring the male leaves the area of the breeding female and forms a pair with the female who will breed next year. Cubs are born from late February to mid-May. There are 2-3 cubs in a litter. The main reproductive contribution is made by females aged 3-7 years. From the end of May, the settlement of young animals from broods begins, partly on the surface, partly underground, the settlement continues until autumn. Young males predominantly settle in the second year of life and mainly underground, females - in the first year and often on the surface, which leads to greater mortality of females in the first year of life. The dispersal range varies from several tens to several hundred meters.
6. Natural enemies
7. Relationships with a person
It can harm agricultural crops, especially in vegetable gardens and personal plots (potatoes, carrots, onions and bulbous flowers are most affected). Damages crops of corn, legumes, woody plants(eats germinating seeds and young plants). Soil emissions can make it difficult to carry out field work (especially mechanized mowing of perennial grasses for hay), and also damage field roads. Due to the underground way of life, the fight against the animal is difficult (mainly mechanical traps and repellent devices are used) and is often ineffective.
The common mole rat is completely devoid of vision, instead it has tactile hairs, well developed sense of smell and hearing. This is enough for the animal to live a normal life, during which it almost never sees sunlight. For many owners land plots The mole rat has become a real punishment, because it is capable of digging up the entire planting area and even affecting the stability of the buildings located there.
Few people have seen common mole rats in person due to their lifestyle. They rarely come to the surface, and their activity increases with the onset of darkness. So many people have to get some idea of the size and lifestyle of the animal only from the traces it leaves. To help those who want to know how the common mole rat lives and looks, here are photos and stories from biologists.
Description of the common mole rat
The maximum length of these rodents reaches 32 cm, and their weight is 700 g. They have an elongated body in the shape of a cylinder, a short neck, paws and tail, and a head flattened at the top. The animals' ears are barely noticeable, and their eyes are hidden under the skin and completely atrophied. The color of different individuals may have some differences.
Short soft wool mole rats usually look like a mixture of brown, gray and brown shades in different proportions, sometimes there are light spots on the head and body. The rodent is usually colored black. When first meeting a mole rat, the upper and lower incisors that are pushed far forward are striking.
Where do common mole rats live?
For permanent habitat, the common mole rat usually chooses a steppe or forest-steppe. He likes to settle near beams, along roads dividing fields, and forest roads. It can be found in Russia, Ukraine and Moldova. In the northern part of its range, the common mole rat is considered rare, although it is the most common species of its genus, which also includes sandy, giant, Bukovina and Podolsk mole rats.
IN this moment The conservation of the species' numbers is threatened by land plowing, measures to improve the properties of the land and plant protection. Meanwhile, it cannot be said that this type is on the verge of extinction. The relevant organizations are concerned only about the conservation of populations in some northern and southern zones, where the common mole rat lives. Red Book International Union security has him on their lists. In view of this, catching animals in certain areas prohibited, and human activities in their indigenous habitats are limited.
How do common mole rats live?
An ordinary mole rat, briefly speaking, spends its entire life, which is an average of 2.5-4 years, underground, digging complex systems tunnels and obtains food. Most of all, the animal loves the roots, tubers and bulbs of plants, but it can also feast on stems and leaves. About 10 kg food supplies it is necessary to prepare the mole rat for the winter. At this time of year, its vital activity noticeably decreases, but the rodent does not hibernate.
The optimal number of common mole rats is 3 individuals per hectare, but this number can reach up to 20. With the help of sharp incisors and paws, the animals dig through a branched two-tier system of burrows. The upper tier lies at a depth of 20-25 cm, and the lower one, where the mole rat forms galleries for nesting and storing food supplies, is at a depth of 3-4 m. External holes are not permanent, but are formed only in order to bring dug up earth to the surface .
How the animal reproduces
The social structure of common mole rats is family groups, which includes one male and one or two females. If there are two females, they take turns giving birth every other year. Mating occurs in the spring, and a brood of 2-3 cubs can be born from February to May. Half of the males live separately and do not produce offspring.
The dispersal of young animals occurs over a distance of tens or hundreds of meters. Females do this in the first year of life, climbing to the surface, which explains their high mortality rate. Most often they are the object of hunting by birds of prey and foxes. Males separate from their mother a year later, without leaving the bowels of the earth. The main underground enemy of common mole rats is the steppe polecat.
Animal pest
Branched underground labyrinths are perfect for the life of mole rats, but can cause anxiety for humans. If a garden or garden plot becomes the habitat of this rodent, the lion's share you can say goodbye to the harvest. Most likely, the animal will like carrots, potatoes and onions. He may also like onion flowers, legumes, corn and young trees.
Endless piles of dug up earth, subsidence of the soil, sudden disappearance of planted crops and even small trees - this is what people observe when a common mole rat settles on their plot of land. The description of his sabotage can be continued for a long time, and stopping them is an impossible task for many.
How to drive away a mole rat
Only one question arises when personal plot There is a mole rat infestation - how to get rid of the pest? For many, this becomes an overwhelming task. After all, the animal constantly hides in the ground and its presence, creating new mounds and destroying planted plants, only at night.
It is best to try to create conditions so that the animal leaves on its own. land plot. A lot of ways have been invented for this, but none of them guarantees that the animal will escape forever. But it’s still worth making every effort to get rid of the mole rat without shedding its blood.
One commonly used method is to flood its tunnel with water. But this may require too much water, since the animal’s underground passages are very branchy. But if the soil quickly absorbs moisture, this method is completely useless. Some try to smoke four-legged neighbor using smoke, pouring kerosene or foul-smelling mixtures into the hole. Another way is to create constant noise in the area where it lives, which the common mole rat cannot tolerate. As an option, you can use an ultrasonic repeller.
Radical ways to get rid of mole rats
When it is not possible to drive away a mole rat, some resort to a more radical measure - murder. To do this, you can watch for the animal by opening one of its passages. He does not like drafts, so he will definitely want to cover the hole with earth. As soon as he gets close, it will be possible to destroy him.
Another way is to make a hole in the hole and place a trap in it so that the mole rat falls into it on the way to the open opening. It is important that the trap does not have a human smell, for which it is worth rubbing it with potatoes or earth. You can use poison to kill rodents. But if there is something to eat on the site, the rodent may not covet the poisoned food.
The common mole rat is a rodent that few people have seen alive. An underground life with nocturnal activity has meant that few people know of its existence. Many would prefer never to know about the existence of such an underground inhabitant, instead of seeing how he destroys the crops growing on the site.
Features and habitat of the mole rat
Common mole rat is a mammal that belongs to the order of rodents. During evolutionary development all organs of this animal have adapted to the underground lifestyle.
The eyes completely atrophied and lost the ability to see. This is almost the only case in the delight of rodents when a complete loss of vision occurred.
The lifestyle of these mammals is exclusively underground. Mole rats, like , they dig long labyrinths of passages, and they push the excess soil that interferes with them to the surface.
There are 4 species in the mole rat family. Each of them has its own habitat. Animal mole rat chooses steppes, deserts, forest-steppes and forest outskirts for its residence.
The soil suitable for their habitat should be of moderate density. Clay and sandy soil is not suitable for them. Their habitat includes forest-steppes and steppes of Moldova, Ukraine and Russia. These are mainly pastures or unplowed lands rich in herbaceous vegetation.
A mole rat digs the ground with its teeth
Mole mole rat itself is small in size. Its length is 30-32 cm. It weighs from 700 g. up to 1 kg. He leads a rather secluded lifestyle, so few people have seen him live. To correct this oversight and have an idea about appearance of this animal, we bring to your attention several photo of mole rats.
As you can see in the image, it has no ears, its eyes are hidden under folds of skin, and its small tail is almost invisible. The limbs of this underground inhabitant are short, and the head resembles a bayonet shovel.
By the way, he digs his own tunnels mole mole rat exclusively with teeth, not paws. This happens in the following way: the front incisors of the mammal bite into the soil, and then with the help of a shovel-shaped head, crushed lumps of earth are pushed out. Special structure jaw and muscles allows you to move the lower incisors apart and move them forward and backward.
This type of work leads to significant wear on teeth. mole rat. But don’t worry, the incisors grow very quickly, so this underground inhabitant will not be left without a “tool” for digging his tunnels.
By the way, thanks to his work, he not only grinds down the incisors, but also sharpens them when biting into the soil. Animals in captivity deserve more sympathy. They do not have the opportunity to grind their teeth and sometimes they cannot close their mouth due to the fact that the incisors have grown to enormous sizes.
The fur of these giants of their craft is very soft and dark in color. The nose is covered with a keratinized layer of skin. It is this layer that is protective. It protects against various mechanical damage during compaction of the burrow walls.
The character and lifestyle of the mole rat
If moles loosen the soil with their front paws, then sand mole rats wield powerful cutters. The piles of earth after their activity remain larger than those of moles, reaching about 0.5 m.
Pictured is a sand mole rat
The weight of one such pile can reach 10 kg. From 3 to 20 representatives of this species live on 1 hectare of land. The most active period of life of these rodents falls on spring months. In summer and winter they become less active, but in hibernation don't fall in.
Labyrinths of passages mole rats giants are special in their structure. Their distinctive feature is a tiered tunnel system. So, the top floor of “such a building” is considered food, it is located at a depth of 25 cm.
On this tier, rodents collect food: tubers, plant rhizomes. On the second floor there are tunnels, summer and winter nests and storage rooms. It is located deeper - 3-4 m. In winter, the entrance to these underground galleries is clogged with earth, and the animal lives here until the onset of warmer times.
total area of similar labyrinths is 450 m. The number of food pantries in such an area can reach 10 pieces, and winter supplies can be 10 kg. This is such a thrifty animal.
Lifestyle giant mole rats lonely. They carefully guard the borders of their territory. Sometimes, collisions between two males end in clashes over territory with fatal results. Lifespan mole rats is 2.5 – 9 years.
Their activities cause great harm agriculture. Signs mole rat in the garden- these are hills of earth. They not only spoil the aesthetic appearance of the site, but also destroy the crop.
The crops most affected by these underground animals are corn, legumes, carrots, beets and potatoes. In just one day, 1 individual can damage 4-6 root crop bushes.
Mole rat settled down on your site, how to deal with it? You can get rid of this pest by re-digging the soil. This is how I destroy the feeding tiers of their passages. Sometimes it scares them away bad smell, so you can use special purchased repellers.
One of the options for fighting is to capture mole rat manually. To do this, a fresh entrance to the hole is determined and another entrance is looked for. Then the section between them is excavated.
Pictured is a giant mole rat
This animal does not tolerate drafts, so it will try to repair the damage. It is at this moment that this pest can be caught. Kick out mole mole rat You can also use water. They find a mound of earth mixed with clay and pour water into the hole nearby.
Mole rat nutrition
Mole rats eat exclusively plant foods. They eat tubers, bulbs and rhizomes. To get to the stem, they pull on the root so that the entire plant ends up in their burrow. Favorite “dishes” mole rat are legumes, asteraceae and umbelliferae.
Reproduction and lifespan of mole rats
Mole rats They live alone, but during the breeding season they form family groups. Such a family includes 1 male and 1-2 females. As a rule, members of such families live next door. The male is digging a tunnel to his chosen one. He moves in response to the sounds made by the female.
If there are 2 females in a group, then they take turns breeding. One year the first, the second - another. Such unions disintegrate only in the event of death. 2-3 babies are born per year. We have to significant event between February and May.
Settlement younger generation goes on in a peculiar way. So “girls” are moved to the upper tiers a year after their appearance, and “boys” are moved to the lower floors in the 2nd year. They become sexually mature at 2-3 years of age.
Having encountered a mole rat in nature, it is difficult to recognize in it an animal that belongs to a number of rodents, so surprisingly its entire structure is adapted to constant underground life. Only the presence of one pair of extremely strong incisors with a sharp, chisel-shaped shape, which, unlike other shrews, protrude expressively from the mouth, and the absence of fangs indicate that this animal belongs to the order of rodents. Upper lips mole rats enter the oral cavity and form a kind of valve that reliably prevents soil from entering the mouth. A peculiar adaptation to the underground life of mole rats is their clumsy body with a very wide flattened shovel-shaped head and short neck, undeveloped ears, which are not even visible from the fur and which look like folds of skin around a small ear opening. The eyes of mole rats are also completely atrophied and their remains are hidden under the skin. On both sides of the head there is a row of hard elastic bristles that act as a sensory organ. The nose of mole rats is wide, covered with a strong layer of very keratinized skin. The tail is very short and invisible in appearance. The legs are also very short. The mole rat differs from shrews such as moles in that its forelimbs do not have the appearance of digging organs. Mole rats dig numerous underground passages exclusively with the help of wide incisors, with which they bite into the soil. The loosening soil is pushed through with the head, like a shovel.
The body length of mole rats does not exceed 35 cm. Hairline short, thick, silky, without a separate spine. The color is brownish-fawn, with a yellowish tint. The lower part of the body is colored the same as the upper.
Mole rats live in Ukraine in steppe and forest-steppe regions. They live on open spaces, remnants of virgin land not occupied by crops cultivated plants, on the slopes of ravines, hay fields, etc., choosing predominantly chernozem soils covered with dense cereal herbaceous vegetation. Mole rats spend their entire lives in burrows that lie at a depth of 15-20 cm. The system of their underground passages is enormously long: it stretches for a distance of up to 400 m. Mole rats throw the earth from the holes to the surface, forming cone-shaped heaps that look like a molehill, only much more sizes(up to 40 cm in diameter and up to 30 cm in height). Such heaps are located close to one another, so behind them you can determine the direction of the underground passages of the mole rat. Having no permanent exit holes, these animals rarely come to the surface. To do this, each time they work out a special hole outward. Returning to the hole, carefully cover the exit with earth.
Mole rats are very vicious, often attacking each other, severely biting and inflicting serious injuries. When breaking through passages, they show extreme caution. In case of the slightest disturbance of silence, they hide and stop digging for a long time. Mole rats are exclusively herbivorous animals, feeding mainly on succulent roots, rhizomes, tubers, and young roots tree species, only occasionally consume green parts wild plants. Penetrating into agricultural lands, they willingly consume potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.
They do not hibernate during winter, they just stop digging. In autumn, when the soil has not yet frozen, mole rats make large reserves for the winter. plant feed, mainly roots and rhizomes, depositing them in special feeding branches (pantries dug next to the nesting chamber).
Mole rats make nests for birthing and raising babies on great depth(can reach 2 m or more). Here, once a year, in March, the female gives birth to two to four babies, which develop quickly. In the second half of May or early June, they already begin to live independently and even dig holes for themselves. If mole rats settle on cultivated land or in forest nurseries, they can cause significant losses to the national economy. In a potato field 
One mole rat alone gnawed up to thirty bushes during the night. In the hayfields of perennial grasses, mole rats make mowing difficult with their emissions of soil. But especially great harm they apply while preparing winter supplies. Interesting fact, in one mole rat storeroom, about 15 kg of supplies were found - 8 kg of pieces of oak seedling roots, 2 kg of acorns, 5 kg of potatoes, etc.
Even in the recent past, mole rats were numerous rodents on the territory of Ukraine and were considered especially harmful animals, but due to the economic development of free, unoccupied lands, mole rats lost their characteristic natural environment and their number in last decades decreased sharply. Currently as rare species animals of the fauna of Ukraine, they no longer threaten the human economy and are even listed in the Red Book, therefore, subject to protection.
Mole rats have few enemies; their underground lifestyle reliably saves them from many predators. Young animals that begin to disperse independently become victims of predators more often. The fur of mole rats that had good grey colour with a silky sheen and strong flesh, until recently they were prepared as decoration.
Lives in the forest-steppe and tall-grass steppes of Western Ciscaucasia. To the east it reaches the Volga, to the north to Tula and Penza. This short-legged animal with a ridged body, a head flattened in front, without ears and eyes, resembles some kind of strange stump. Its body length is 20–26 cm, weight 140–220 g.
The life of these animals mainly takes place in underground galleries, the total length of which can reach 500 m. They make highly branched feeding passages shallowly under the surface of the earth. Short tunnels stretch from them to the roots of plants, and underneath them there are deep passages connected to the upper galleries by inclined shafts.
There will be 1–3 nesting chambers at a depth of 50 cm to 3.5 m, and areas occupied by storerooms, of which there can be up to a dozen. There are latrines in the dens. Storerooms are usually located under the largest land emissions. Often the labyrinths of male passages are connected to galleries of female passages. There are no open exits from the hole. In winter, the passages are clogged with earth. The diameter of the burrows is 5–6 cm, sometimes slightly larger.
The lower surface of the front (top) and hind legs of a mole rat (right pair)
Digging the ground, the mole rat crushes it with its teeth and throws it back with its paws. Turning around in the hole, it pushes the earth out with its flattened head. By the round emissions of the earth we recognize the areas where these animals have settled; in the common mole rat they are up to 0.5 m in diameter.
In the system of passages occupied by one animal, one can count more than 250 mounds of earth at a distance of 20–100 cm from each other. The animals begin to build new feeding passages mainly in the spring, in April-May. and use them all summer. Late autumn they begin to dig again, but they do not push out the earth, but place it in the summer feeding passages.
Mole rats feed on underground parts of plants, especially legumes. The amount of food eaten per day is equal to the body weight of the animal. From the second half of summer they begin to collect supplies for the winter.
In the storerooms of these animals, up to 13–14 kg of potatoes and sugar beets were sometimes found. So these rodents sometimes cause damage to root crop plantings. They also eat the roots of young oak trees and sprouted acorns.
Mole rats reproduce slowly. In nests lined with dry plants, the female brings only one litter of 2–4 young, which are born hairless, 5 cm long and weighing about 5 g. The young leave the nest at the age of 4–6 weeks.
The Gagent mole rat can be found only in the semi-deserts of the Caspian region, from Dagestan to the Volga delta. It is noticeably larger than usual, 30–35 cm long. The diameter of the passages of this mole rat is 7–8 cm. The diameter of the emissions is up to 1.5 m, height is up to 70 cm.
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