Who eats a hamster in the steppe. Bright and aggressive wild hamster in the country. Video "So the hamster looks in nature"

In previous topics, we told you about the breeds of domestic hamsters, and what conditions they require. Surely many of you are interested to know how a wild hamster lives, what it looks like, and what it eats. We will talk about this today.

Description of the hamster

A wild dwarf animal belongs to the order of rodents. This mammalian animal is small to medium in size with a dense physique. It has four legs with sharp claws. The head is rounded with large ears, button-black eyes and long antennae. The muzzle of a wild hamster has an elongated shape.

If we talk about what a wild hamster looks like, then in appearance we can say that it is very similar to a rat or mouse, especially if it has a gray or black color. A red or golden wild hamster whose photo can be easily found on the Internet has some similarities with a squirrel.

Dimensions and colors

Depending on the age of the animal, the length of the tail can vary from 0.5 cm to 25 cm. The tail can be either fluffy or completely naked.

As for the weight and length of the body, it all depends on the age of the rodent. Dwarf hamsters weigh little - up to 10 g, but the size of large individuals in adulthood reaches 650-700 g of weight. The body length varies from 5 cm to 30 cm. Such dimensions help the wild animal to easily hide from predators.

A wild animal, like a domestic one, has sixteen teeth, and all of them constantly grow throughout life. Therefore, wild species of the Khomyakov family constantly grind them down. As a grinding material, the hamster uses any hard objects, such as wood.

The coat of young rodents is smooth, fluffy, in adults it is hard, bristly. The color of wild animals is the most diverse. In the wild, you can find white, brown, gray, brown-gray and golden fluffies. The black hamster has a special decorative effect, but in nature such species can rarely be found. The color of the hair on the tail, abdomen and legs in wild rodents may differ from the main color of the body. These parts of the body are black, red, rarely white.

All hamsters, including wild ones, have cheek pouches. It is in them that the rodent accumulates food for further eating. Despite the small size, the bags are a capacious storage for products.

Another feature of small rodents is the ability to swim and dive. This ability is best developed in webbed hamsters, which contain membranes between the fingers.

Habitat

We can safely say that these species of rodents live all over the globe. You can meet them on the territory of South and Central America, the South-East of Europe, Asia Minor and South, Russia, Romania, Kazakhstan.

The natural habitat in nature is the steppe, forest-steppe, semi-desert, arid fields, gardens, mountain meadows.

Lifestyle

A distinctive feature of wild rodents is living alone. The exception is the mating period, when the female and male spend time together. In rare cases, you can meet rodents living in pairs or groups.

A wild animal lives both on earth and underground. It all depends on the physiological characteristics and needs of the wild rodent. Some rodents dig entire labyrinths underground, equipping them with their dwelling, nest for nursing cubs and food storage. Other individuals are born and arrange their lives purely on the surface of the earth.

Golden hamsters prefer life in trees. Their house, equipped with dry grass, twigs and bird feathers, can be located at a height of 5-6 meters from the ground.

Webbed rodents love living in reed beds and close to water. Given the high ability to swim and dive, such an animal can quickly hide under water for the purpose of self-preservation.

Wild hamsters lead an active lifestyle:

• some subspecies are in good shape for 24 hours a day;
• other subspecies sleep during the day, and at night they begin to become more active.

Rodents living in southern countries are active throughout the year. During the onset of winter, wild hamsters living in the north hibernate and wake up only to eat.

Diet

These mammals can be called omnivorous wild animals. They eat everything that comes their way. The food consists of plant products. An animal that lives in its natural environment, as well as a domestic one, prefers to eat:

• any grain mixture, seeds, soybeans, peas, beans, lentils, rice, buckwheat;
• young shoots, roots and leaves of plants, trees;
• from herbs, the hamster prefers dandelion, clover, plantain, nettle, etc .;
• from vegetables - potatoes, carrots, beets, cabbage;
• fruits;
• feed on wild pussies and small insects to make up for the lack of protein (locusts, ants, moths, grasshoppers, caterpillars and earthworms).

Food preferences may vary. For example, sleepy hamsters eat bananas, avocados, and figs. But scorpion rodents feed on real scorpions. Although such food is not the basis of their diet. Mouse-like rodents simply adore pistachios, and webbed hamsters feed on mollusks, crustaceans and crabs. Fish fluffies love to eat fish.

How it breeds

Puberty in wild rodents begins quite early. Already at the age of 1-1.5 months, females are ready for fertilization. The period of carrying babies by wild hamsters is 3-4 weeks. For a year, one female can transfer up to 10 litters. With each litter, from 5 to 15 hamsters are born, depending. They can be red, golden, black, rarely spotted. The color scheme of the cubs depends on the color of their parents.

Tiny cubs are born with closed eyes, and only in the second week of life, the eyes begin to open. For the first three weeks, their mother feeds them with milk, then they begin to eat everything that adults eat in nature.

The birthplace of the animal is Asia, Siberia, Kazakhstan. In their natural habitat, dzhungars prefer to settle in deserts, dry steppes, less often in forest-steppes. Therefore, Djungarian hamsters can be found in the east of Kazakhstan, the Northeast of China and Mongolia.

The habitat of Djungarian hamsters in Russia is Western Siberia, areas of southern Transbaikalia, Tuva, in the Minusinsk, Aginsk and Chui steppes. It is also found in the Altai Mountains at an altitude of 2 to 4 thousand meters above sea level. Hamsters prefer to settle in undeveloped territories, but they are also tolerant of the neighborhood with people.

The home of Djungarian hamsters are underground burrows, the depth of which can reach 1 meter. It can be used to distinguish the sex and age of the dzhungarik. In young males - small and shallow, in females - much more, in adult and strong males - the largest. The burrows of Djungarian hamsters have a large number of branches, several burrows and chambers that are used for pantries, bedrooms and latrines.

What do Djungarian hamsters eat in the wild?

There is a misconception that Djungarian hamsters feed exclusively on herbaceous plants. In fact, they are practically omnivores. Food is varied. In the wild, animals often prey on insects (grasshoppers, locusts, ants, caterpillars, moths, worms).

Animals also eat berries, young shoots of trees, leaves and roots of plants, seeds and grains. In search of food, these small animals are able to travel many kilometers.

Djungarians like to stock up for the winter. One individual is able to accumulate up to 20 kilograms of grains and seeds. And sometimes hamsters hide up to 90 kg in their minks. Hamsters like to live close to people's homes, so vegetables from gardens appear on their menu. But they spoil quickly, so to replenish supplies, hamsters often go into barns in search of grain.

natural enemies

Like any wild animal, the Djungarian hamster has its enemies. Since hamsters live mainly in semi-deserts and steppes, birds of prey are their main enemies. During the day they are hunted by hawks and other representatives of this family, at night - by owls and eagle owls.

For rodents living in the forest-steppes, terrestrial predators are of particular danger: foxes, wolves, lynxes, ermines, badgers, martens, polecats and sables. Also, cats and hunting dogs are dangerous for dzhungars, which often attack hamsters that settled near settlements.

Excellent hearing saves Djungarian hamsters from a sudden attack of predators. If the sound is not loud, then the jungarik will run to hide in his mink house or other secluded place. If the sound is clear and loud, and there is no way to hide, then the hamster freezes in place, hoping to go unnoticed. In the event that this method does not work, the dzhungarik stands on its hind legs, takes a frightening pose and makes aggressive sounds.

This method helps to protect. He can also use his sharp teeth and claws when fighting with the enemy. And this applies not only to predators, but also to rival hamsters: if one of these wanders into someone else's territory, then he will immediately receive the first warning.

Moreover, sharp sounds are designed not only to scare away enemies, but also to notify relatives of the danger that has arisen. This feature has led to the nickname "singing hamsters" attached to the animals.

Dzungaria are small, vulnerable creatures, but nature itself has taken care of their protection. She rewarded hamsters of this species with a fur coat that blends with the environment, even in winter, the animals shed and replace their fur with white. In English, they are called so - winter white dwarf hamster - white winter dwarf hamsters.

So all the predators taken together cannot destroy the Djungarian hamsters as a species, they only manage to keep the number of small fluffies in check.

Lifestyle

Adult individuals of Djungarian hamsters prefer to exist alone. Unlike home conditions, in the wild, the Dzungars are forced to get their own food. Therefore, these animals are characterized by constant rivalry for territory, food, females. Dzungarian hamsters are fearless, an adult male can attack another animal, the size of which exceeds his own at times.

Djungarian hamsters are usually twilight or nocturnal. During daylight hours, animals rest deep underground in their burrows, and at nightfall they come out to look for something to profit from.

Dzhungars spend most of their short life on procuring food supplies. Using hypodermic bags on the side of the body, hamsters drag all the supplies into the mink so that they can eat at any time.

This type of hamster does not fall into hibernation, however, its appearance changes: if the temperature stays below 16 degrees Celsius for a long time, then the animal's coat becomes noticeably lighter. Preparing for the winter, the hamster stocks up not only with food for the future, but also acquires fat itself.

A persistent decrease in temperature - 10 degrees requires large energy expenditures from hamsters, which is why the dzungars fall into a stupor, reducing body temperature to 20 ° C (the so-called torpor phenomenon). Moreover, this condition occurs in animals not only from the cold, but also during stress.

reproduction

The life expectancy of a dzhungarik in nature is much less than at home. And no wonder, any sortie out of the hole fills the day of the animal with stress and worries. In the wild, danger awaits animals at almost every step, it can be death during hunting, illness and injury, hunger with a lack of food. Therefore, the life span rarely exceeds 2 years, while hamsters at home often live up to 3-4 years.

As for the breeding of jungariks, the season lasts from early May to mid-October. In one such period, the female can give offspring from 2 to 4 times. Pregnancy lasts about 20 days. One individual can have from 5 to 12 cubs. Feeling that the baby is weak and will not be able to survive, the female eats it.

Children grow up very quickly: after a week, hamsters have fur, after 10 days little Djungarian hamsters can see, and after 20 days they become completely independent. Sexual maturity occurs at 1.5-2 months.

The history of the origin of the Djungarian hamster

Oddly enough, but the official classification of representatives of the animal world appeared quite recently. Animals because of their small size did not attract the attention of biologists for a very long time. However, over time, a whole family was singled out - Hamsters, to which many species of hamsters from all over the world were subsequently assigned.

Djungarian hamsters were first discovered by the famous scientist and traveler PS Pallas in 1773 during an expedition through the territory of modern Kazakhstan.

More recently, there have been disputes whether the dzhungarik belongs to a variety of Campbell's hamster (Phodopus campbelli). It has now been established that the Djungarian hamster is a separate species.

Hamsters have become pets only since the second half of the 20th century. Cute and compact rodents with soft fur, round cheeks, small ears and a barely noticeable tail, were able to quickly win the love of their owners. Now Djungarian hamsters have become one of the most common pets.

A wild hamster in the natural environment does not live as long as its domestic counterpart. This is due to more severe living conditions, daily forcing these small animals to deal with a number of negative external factors. They have a lot of enemies: foxes, ferrets, kites, weasels. And this is not the whole list. Yes, and farmers treat them negatively, since with their raids in search of food they cause significant damage to agricultural land.

Description

Hamsters are mammals from the order Rodents and the Hamster family. There are about 19 varieties of wild hamsters, differing in appearance and size. In the smallest representative, the body length does not exceed 5 cm, in the largest - 35 cm.

The body is dense, the head is small, with a sharp muzzle and mustache. They have 16 teeth that do not stop growing throughout their lives. Therefore, they grind them mercilessly on various hard objects.

In young animals, the coat is soft and silky, with age it begins to coarsen. Color may vary:

• sand;
• cream;
• brown;
• golden;
• grey;
• white.

Black hamsters are rare.

A characteristic feature of all species is the presence of capacious cheek pouches in which the animals hide food.

In wild hamsters, females look much more solid than males. These rodents are excellent swimmers and divers.

Wild hamsters have a rather extensive habitat, covering Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia, as well as Syria, South Korea, Iran, China and Mongolia, Siberia. Mostly animals live in the steppes, forests, deserts. Some varieties rise high into the mountains, up to 2.5 thousand meters above sea level. Rodents like to nest near human settlements.

The most common types of hamsters are shown in the table.

Name	Description and habitat	Photos of representatives of the species
Steppe or ordinary	The most aggressive representative, capable of attacking even larger animals and humans. They often attack their brethren during the mating season in order to eliminate an opponent. They lead a night life, and during the day they hide in underground passages, at a depth of up to 1.5 meters. In their lair they are able to collect quite solid supplies of food, about 90 kg. This is quite understandable, since for the winter they settle in a hole without getting out. This hamster zealously protects personal possessions from any encroachment from the outside. Females and males nest separately
Forest	Despite this name, these hamsters settle not only in forests, but also in deserts and prairies. Often found near human habitation, in gardens and orchards. They do not have a single way of life: they live in pairs and alone, sleep and stay awake at different times. When next to a person, hamsters prefer to sleep during the day, and at night to steal firewood and build nests for themselves. They are usually located on trees. For the winter period they do not hibernate, but can become numb
Field	Lives in Canada, Ecuador and Colombia. They mainly settle in the thickets of tropical forests, avoiding agricultural land. Sometimes found in swampy areas and prairies. They have an unusual multi-colored color. The tail is covered with small scales below, and fluffy above. Body length from 5 to 20 cm, depending on age
Dzungarian	The most studied species, which is most often domesticated. Habitat: Central and Central Asia, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan. Were seen in Altai. They prefer steppe and semi-desert territories. They are small in size: body length is about 10 cm. They are active at dusk and at night. They dig intricate labyrinth burrows with several entrances. In winter they do not sleep, sometimes they jump out for food
Syrian (golden)	It has a dense physique, with a body length of up to 15 cm, a tail of 1.5-2 cm. It can be golden or light cream in color with a whitish belly. The weight of an adult reaches 130 grams. They live for about 4 years. They live in Siberia and Turkey. Due to the limited range, the population is listed in the Red Book.

Lifestyle and nutrition

A characteristic feature of all hamsters is a solitary existence. Females and males live separately and unite only at the time of mating. Each has its own territory, which they jealously protect from the invasion of their own kind. Rodents dig holes for themselves in the form of long and intricate labyrinths underground with a total length of sometimes up to three meters, they equip several spacious compartments there. They store food in them. So they are preparing for bezvylazny living in the winter.

All hamsters are very thrifty and in the fall they fill their storages with a rather impressive amount of food (up to 90 kg). In Korea and China, the poor are conducting a special search for hamster holes in order to collect grain for food.

The diet of hamsters includes both plant and animal foods.depends on the habitat. If grain lands are located nearby, then they will eat mainly grain.

Hamsters do not disdain insects and dead animals. If hamster settlements are located near summer cottages, then the menu is dominated by vegetables and other crops grown in gardens. Only they are not suitable as a winter stock, so hamsters have to periodically raid barns in search of grain. In a particularly hungry year, there are cases of rodent attacks on chickens.

Hamsters eat:

• berries;
• young shoots of trees;
• foliage and roots of plants;
• fruits;
• seeds and grains;
• wheat, corn;
• potato tubers, carrots, cabbage, beets;
• legumes;
• insects: locusts, grasshoppers, moths, ants, caterpillars, earthworms.

The animals usually come out for prey at night. Their taste preferences may vary depending on the species and where they live. So, sleepy hamsters love to eat avocados and bananas, and mouse-like hamsters love pistachios.

Webbed periodically eat seafood:

• crayfish;
• shellfish;
• crabs;
• fish.

Many species, such as the common hamster, hibernate for about five cold months. Only when they are very hungry, they wake up to refresh themselves, and fall asleep again. As a result of slowing down their metabolism for this period, they manage to easily survive the harsh winter. Others continue to lead an active lifestyle and periodically get out to the surface for food. Awakening usually occurs in February, when the earth thaws.

Getting out doesn't happen right away. For about a month, the underground inhabitants are still sitting in their burrows, eating up the remnants of supplies. Only a month later they open the passages. Immediately after hibernation, hamsters begin to collect preserved seeds and grain in the fields, then the turn of young shoots comes. Animals are not averse to tasting meat if weakened or injured animals are encountered on the way.

They do not hunt themselves, with the exception of steppe hamsters. These are the most aggressive members of the family, and sometimes they even attack rabbits.

The life expectancy of rodents is determined not only by living conditions, but also by belonging to a particular species. On average, the term varies from 2 to 7 years. In the wild, most die prematurely, as they become the prey of large predators and birds: foxes, gray herons, kites, badgers, owls. There are frequent cases of eating their cubs by rooks and crows.

A huge number of hamsters and hamsters live on planet Earth. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia.

The largest number of varieties of these animals is noted in America and on the islands off its coast (subfamily Sigmondontinae) (more about hamster species). African hamsters belong to the subfamily Lophiomyinae, and those living in Eurasia belong to the subfamily Cricetinae, family Cricetidae.

The Pre-Asian (Syrian) hamster is well known as a pet. In nature, he lives only in a small area in northwestern Syria.

Animals inhabit various biotypes: forests, forest-steppes, steppes, semi-deserts, deserts, savannas, mountains, shores of water bodies. Many species settle in close proximity to humans.

On the territory of Russia, mainly in the steppe zone, there are 12 species of these animals.

Rat hamsters are common in China. Also found in Russia (Amur Region and Primorsky Territory).

Features of the appearance of hamsters

All hamsters are relatively small, their body length is from 5 cm (in a dwarf hamster) to 30 cm (in an ordinary hamster). The tail can be either barely noticeable or exceeding the length of the body. Animals weigh, depending on the variety, from 7 to 700 grams.

All hamsters have a small, compact, rounded body, short paws with sharp claws, small (and in some species quite large) ears, bulging dark eyes, and long whiskers.

The fur of the animals is quite thick, usually soft. The color of the back can be very diverse: from ashen, brown or brown to red, golden or almost black. The abdomen is usually light.

Common hamster in its natural habitat.

A characteristic feature of hamsters is the cheek pouches, which are loose folds of skin starting from the space between the incisors and molars and stretching along the outer side of the lower jaw. The cheek pouches are stretched, allowing the animal to carry a large amount of provisions to its pantries (storages). In nature, such pantries are very useful devices, especially for animals living in places where food appears irregularly, but in large quantities.

The drum hamster is the owner of very capacious cheek pouches that allow you to carry a large amount of food into the pantries.

The front paws of these rodents somewhat resemble hands, which allows them to deftly manage food. Hamsters often make characteristic movements with their paws that allow them to squeeze food forward from their cheek pouches.

Hamsters have poor eyesight, but they have a good sense of smell and keen hearing. They communicate with each other using ultrasounds and squeaks audible by the human ear.

The lifestyle of hamsters in nature

Known to many as pets, hamsters in natural conditions are solitary animals, while being aggressive towards their relatives. This behavior may be the result of constant competition for unevenly distributed but sometimes plentiful food resources. Some large species can even attack dogs and people in case of danger!

The active life of most of these animals in the wild begins at dusk and continues throughout the night. During the day, rodents rest in burrows. Their burrows are solid structures with numerous passages, pantries and nesting chambers.

Some American species are adapted to life in trees. They build elaborate nests of leaves in vines.

The sleepy hamster lives in the rainforests of Central America. He builds nests in trees.

In the cold season, rodents fall into a stupor or short-term hibernation - long hibernation is not characteristic of hamsters.

To ensure that provisions are always "at hand", hamsters stock up seasonally, storing non-perishable seeds and other products in their pantries. They feed on them in the cold winter, when they get out of their stupor for a while, and also in the spring, when there is still not enough food.

diet

Hamsters are mainly herbivores. The basis of their diet is seeds, shoots, root crops (wheat, barley, millet, peas, beans, carrots, potatoes, beets, etc.), as well as leaves and flowers.

Small provisions, such as seeds, the hamster carries into the hole in the cheek pouches, larger ones, such as potatoes, in the teeth. He stores food for the winter, eats underground, or eats on the spot (in calm conditions). A rat-like hamster, for example, can carry 42 soybeans in its cheek pouches.

procreation

Most species reach sexual maturity shortly after lactation is over, or even earlier. For example, a female common hamster can give birth as early as 59 days old.

Pre-Asian hamsters develop a little more slowly and reach sexual maturity at the age of 57-70 days. In nature, they breed 1, less often 2 times a year - in spring and summer, although at home they can bear offspring all year round. Only female rat-like hamsters in nature can bring 3 broods per year. On average, there are 9-10 cubs in a brood, sometimes up to 22.

Preparing to become a mother, the female builds a nest from grass, wool and feathers. Pregnancy lasts from 16 to 20 days (in an ordinary hamster). Babies are born naked and blind.

Courtships are simple and short, like all animals that meet only to continue their kind. After mating, the pair breaks up, and it is most likely that the male and female will never meet again. The exception is Djungarian hamsters, who are wonderful fathers and even serve as obstetricians to their partners. The father helps the newborns to be born, cleans them from the remnants of the placenta and licks the nostrils to allow them to breathe. He then stays with the female and offspring to keep them warm. When the mother leaves to feed, he stays to look after the babies.

In the Pre-Asian hamster, the cubs are weaned from their mother at the age of three weeks. And the slowest developing species - the mouse-like hamster - may not reach the size of an adult even by 6 months.

Enemies in nature

It is not surprising that these small rodents have many enemies in nature. They are hunted by foxes, badgers, ferrets, weasels, ermines, wild dogs, owls, kites and other birds of prey. The nocturnal lifestyle saves hamsters from some dangers, but mostly they have to rely only on caution, disguise and quick paws. Suspecting something was wrong, the rodent runs to its hole, trying to hide in it as quickly as possible.

Hamsters and man

For the winter, hamsters store a large amount of provisions in their pantries (an average of 3-15 kg), but due to their relatively low population density, they cause little damage to agriculture.

The history of the relationship between a person and an ordinary hamster is interesting. The number of this species in the 40s of the XX century was high, although more than a million skins were harvested annually. Since the 70s, a sharp increase in its numbers began, especially in the Crimea. By the beginning of the 21st century, he settled in household plots, in city parks, reaching a density unprecedented in nature - 136 individuals per 1 ha. This species was regularly recorded even on the outskirts of Moscow. In Western Europe in the 1970s, in some areas, 15-20 thousand hamsters lived on an area of ​​1 km2. Obviously, with such a population, the species is a pest, so a variety of methods of destruction were applied to it, starting with pesticides and ending with specially trained dogs for the extermination of hamsters. As a result, the species has practically disappeared in recent years. Today it is under strict protection in many European countries, but it has not been possible to restore the number.

Most other varieties of hamsters are not endangered, probably because they live in sparsely populated areas and have a high breeding rate.

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