Mole rat animal. Lifestyle and habitat of the mole rat. The common mole rat is not a mole. Habitat and habits Soil animal 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.

A mole rat digs the ground with its teeth

These are mainly pastures or unplowed lands rich in herbaceous vegetation. 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 of ​​​​the 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. This one has limbs underground inhabitant 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 huge size. 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 of giant mole rats 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. The total area of ​​such 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.

The lifestyle of giant mole rats is solitary. They carefully guard the borders of their territory. Sometimes, collisions between two males end in clashes over territory with fatal results. Their activities cause great harm agriculture.

Signs of a 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. Corn suffers the most from these underground animals. 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. It happens that they are repelled by an unpleasant smell, so you can use special commercial repellers. One of the options is to fight catching a mole rat by hand. 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 outside mole mole rat You can also use water. They find a mound of earth mixed with clay and pour water into the hole nearby.

Nutrition

They feed 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. The favorite “dishes” of the mole rat are legumes, asteraceae and umbelliferae.

Reproduction and lifespan

Mole rats 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.

The resettlement of the younger generation is taking place in a unique 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. Life expectancy of mole rats is 2.5 – 9 years.

The common one prefers to settle where there is grassy vegetation. He does not like to go deep into the forest, but sometimes he can be found in a forest belt, in a clearing or forest edge.

Appearing on the territory of agricultural plantations, these animals can destroy a significant part of the crop, damaging tubers, roots and root crops.

Types and features of life activity

Mole rats are concentrated near hay and pasture lands: their presence is quite easy to determine by the characteristic dug pits - mole rats, next to which there is always a pile of dug soil.

The appearance of the animal is memorable: the body length of an adult animal reaches 30 cm, and the weight of some individuals can exceed 600 g. The body is elongated, cylindrical, the neck is short and not pronounced. The limbs are also quite short, and the pest’s tail is reduced and hidden under a layer of skin.

The outer ear reminds of itself only by a small fur roll. The nasal section of the animal is presented in the form of a bare horny sheath of black or brownish color.

The habitat of individuals is underground. Sometimes traces of their vital activity are confused with traces of a mole, but there is almost nothing in common between them. In addition to the ordinary variety, there are also popular types:

• sandy;
• Bukovinian;
• small;
• Podolsk;
• The giant mole rat is the largest individual of the family.

There is a misconception that attributes the bald mole rat to the mole rat subspecies. This is wrong. Despite some external similarities, the bald mole rat is a member of the mole rat family.

When talking about where the animal lives, one cannot fail to mention grassy areas and agricultural fields. In the area of ​​plowed areas, the number of pests is low: mainly these individuals can be found near pastures, ravines or between field boundaries.

The process of digging the ground occurs exclusively with the help of incisors: the front teeth bite into the ground, and the spade-shaped head of the animal subsequently pushes small lumps to the surface. The special structure of the jaw allows the individual to move the lower teeth apart and move them back and forth.

Maliciousness and methods of control

After the activity of rodents, earthen heaps always remain on the surface of the earth, which reach a diameter of 50 cm. The activity of this animal causes enormous damage to agriculture. The first sign of a rodent appearing on the site is piles of earth.

Mole rats live separately and zealously guard their own territory. Sometimes, if a fellow accidentally wanders into the male's territory, the skirmish ends bloody massacre. From 3 to 9 years - this is how long a mole rat lives, depending on environmental conditions.

The fight against mole rats is a difficult matter. Firstly, because for the time being the beast is difficult to detect. Secondly, the work of mole rats is usually confused with the life activity of a mole. Regular digging of the soil on the site helps to get rid of individuals - this way you can destroy most of their underground labyrinths.

One of the most effective ways to get rid of a mole rat - catch it manually. To do this, it is recommended to determine where the fresh entrance was dug, after which another is looked for, and then the distance between them is excavated.

Mole rat. For some, this animal is a discovery, but for others, it is a harmful neighbor with whom they have to constantly fight. Either he destroys the tulips, or he tends to the potato patch - it’s spring, but he spoils the mood!

Mole rat. © Ian Steadman

(Spalax) is a genus of mammals of the mole rat family of the order of Rodents, leading an underground lifestyle. There are about 4 types in it.

What kind of animal is this, a mole rat?

The mole rat's lifestyle is similar to that of a mole: it lives exclusively underground, digs long systems of passages, and pushes excess soil to the surface, forming unsightly mounds. But in general, this is a completely different animal, different and appearance, and body structure, and behavioral characteristics, and even the nature of harmfulness...

Mole rats are small animals, only up to 30-32 cm long, without ears, without a pronounced neck, with atrophied eyes hidden under the skin, a very small inconspicuous tail and short gray fur. Unlike moles, which feed on insects, animals feed on plant foods - they eat rhizomes, roots, tubers, and bulbs. To get to the above-ground parts of plants, they are dragged into a hole by the root. They especially love legumes, umbelliferae, and asteraceae. The stems and leaves are eaten mainly in spring and early summer.

The burrow systems of mole rats are distinguished by tiers. The first tier is food, located at a depth of 20-25 cm from the soil surface. The second, includes connecting tunnels, summer and winter nests, supply storage, is located at a depth of 3-4 m.

If moles loosen the soil with their front paws, mole rats use powerful incisors. And the heaps of earth in the “blind rats’ lands” are larger than those of moles. The soil thrown to the surface reaches a mass of up to 10 kg and forms mounds with a diameter of about 50 cm.

Mole rats prefer isolation. When confronted, males fight until only one remains alive. But at the same time, for each male there are 1-2 females, with whom they coexist during the breeding season. An area of ​​1 hectare can be simultaneously inhabited by 3 to 20 (and sometimes more) animals.

The most active periods in the life of animals are March, April and May. By summer, and then in winter, their vital activity decreases significantly, but they do not hibernate.

Mole rat habitat

The mole rat family includes four species. Each of them has its own habitat, but in general animals are found in the zone of steppes, forest-steppes, semi-deserts, deserts, and very rarely on the outskirts of forests. They prefer soils of moderate density, avoiding clay soils and sands. They do not live in particularly wet places or on salt marshes.

Harm from mole rats

The harmfulness of mole rats is quite high. It is connected with their habits: mounds of earth disrupt the aesthetic appearance of park areas, complicate work in fields, hayfields and in garden plots. Eating plants destroys plantings and destroys flower beds.

Potatoes, corn, onions, legumes, carrots, fodder and sugar beets suffer the most from the animal. During the day, one animal damages from 4 to 6 root crop bushes.

In some regions, animals destroy about 20% of the beet crop, 10% of the corn crop and about 15% of the potato crop. The reserves of one mole rat contain up to 18 kg of these valuable crops.

Measures to combat mole rats

Measures to combat mole rats coincide with measures to combat moles. However, as in the second case, they are often ineffective and require persistence.

In particular, repeated deep digging of the soil, which destroys the feeding systems of their passages, helps get rid of pests. Repelling with unpleasant odors. Using commercial repellers.

You can also catch a mole rat by hand. To do this, you need to identify a freshly dug hole, find another entrance and excavate it. The animal cannot stand drafts and therefore, most likely, will try to fix the destroyed passage, at which point it will be possible to catch it.

They drive the animal out of the hole with the help of water. To do this, they find a mole rat mound of earth mixed with clay, this is the entrance to a hole with a nest, and fill it.

The common mole rat is completely devoid of vision, instead it has tactile hairs, a 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 land owners, 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.

The short, soft fur of mole rats usually looks like a mixture of brown, gray and brown shades in varying proportions, sometimes with 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. The Red Book of the International Union for Conservation has it in its lists. In view of this, catching animals in certain areas is 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 of food supplies must be prepared for 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 made up of family groups, which include 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 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 personal plot becomes the habitat of this rodent, you can say goodbye to the lion's share of 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 earth, subsidence of the soil, sudden disappearance of planted crops and even small trees- this is what people observe when an ordinary 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.

The mole rat does not appear in the garden as often as a mole, for example, or a shrew, but it can cause much more damage to the crop. This rodent is capable of digging long tunnels, where it arranges special places for storing crops grown in the garden.

Getting rid of such a pest is not so easy and fighting it does not always work positive effect. Sometimes you have to use a whole range of tools.

Few people know that there is also such a pest that can take away a significant part of the harvest from its owners. It is almost impossible to see it on the surface of the ground during such an activity as destroying crops.

Pest information:

• The pest can grow up to 30 cm in length.
• It has no eyes, but in their place there is a fold of skin, in the upper part of which hard hairs grow.
• The tail and ears are not large at all, and the front legs are short.
• The animal's fur has a dark gray tint with a blue tint, and adult individuals are distinguished by a characteristic "gray hair".
• The pest has powerful front incisors, which help it dig long underground passages. Only the 2 front incisors are clearly distinguishable.
• The pest digs long tunnels in several tiers.
• The animal's diet includes potatoes, carrots, beets, worms, insects, etc. Loves onions most of all.
• When a mole rat appears on a personal plot, it begins to destroy large plants, dragging them into a dug underground passage. After this, he eats the tops and places the root crops in his storage. Sometimes his storage facilities contain up to 50 kg of various root crops.
• It is not difficult to detect the presence of the animal if you pay attention to the peculiar mounds that look like the entrance to mole holes. Such mounds can be seen both in the garden and next to it.

Reasons for appearance

This pest, like many others, is looking for something to profit from. Naturally, on a backyard or summer cottage the owners grow everything that is necessary to feed the mole rat. In addition to vegetables, there are worms and enough insects on the site. The higher the yield on the site, the greater the chance that this pest will appear here.

The mole rat does not hibernate during the winter, so it requires a lot of food. It is possible that the pest will definitely settle in the area where the crop is taken care of.

The activity of this pest leaves behind long, several-tiered passages in the garden, as well as underground storerooms in which the animal stores part of the crop grown by the owners in their gardens. As a rule, it eats the green mass first and stores the root crops for the winter. Even one mole rat is capable of taking away a considerable share of the harvest. If several individuals appear on the site, then you can forget about high yields of crops such as potatoes, onions, beets and carrots.

In addition, it digs quite large tunnels, with a diameter of 5 to 15 cm, due to which it damages some plants in the area. Lower tiers can be located at a depth of up to 3 meters, and the upper ones - at a depth of 10 cm. Such a system of underground passages often does not allow the normal development of many cultivated plants.

How to get rid of mole rats on your property

Those who had to fight this rodent drew attention to the fact that the mole rat burrows quite deep into the ground, which complicates the fight against it. As already mentioned, the animal can burrow 3 meters deep, so in order to get it, you will have to dig up the entire area. In this regard, many owners are thinking about how to get rid of the animal in order to save the harvest. As you can see, the price of the issue is quite significant.

Experienced gardeners have tried a lot of methods and figured out how to get rid of such an unnecessary neighborhood. And here the most important thing is not to show excessive humanity, since several individuals with their cubs can deprive the owner of the harvest, especially since mole rats reproduce quite quickly.

Traps are used to combat many rodents, including mole rats. But first, it’s better to determine who is spoiling the crop so that the effect of installing traps is maximum.

For effective fight the following steps should be taken:

• First of all, you need to carefully examine the area to find the entrance to the hole.
• In this place you need to dig a hole well so that the mole rats have a draft. A depression is made near the main entrance at a distance of 50 cm and a trap is installed. The top of the trap is covered with plywood.
• Since the pest is afraid of a draft, it will crawl out of the hole to cover it. As a result, the animal falls into a trap.

Some owners tear up the soil and place containers with water inside multi-tiered passages, as a result of which the mole rats cannot get out. This is a rather labor-intensive process, since you have to dig deep into the ground. In addition, it is not always possible to obtain the desired result.

On a note! There is one but effective way getting rid of such a neighborhood. To do this, you need to take a rag, soak it in gasoline, kerosene and other foul-smelling substances, and bury this rag in the ground at various depths. In addition, animals react negatively to essential oils plants such as eucalyptus, cedar, lavender and others.

Thanks to the rapid development of electronics, science and technology, it has been possible to create modern devices that emit ultrasonic waves of various frequencies. Humans do not perceive these waves, but many animals and rodents react negatively to ultrasound. Sound waves This range causes a feeling of fear in rodents, as a result of which they begin to panic and try to leave the uncomfortable area as quickly as possible. Not much time passes, and the rodents leave this area in search of more comfortable conditions for your life.

For effective control it is necessary to install several such devices. In this case, it makes no sense to install any additional traps. Ultrasonic repellers will operate throughout the entire area. They will help get rid of pests even if a good, promising crop for rodents is ripening on the site. Such devices will help the owner get rid of other pests, not just mole rats. Moles, shrews, mole crickets and other pests cannot tolerate ultrasound. The main thing is to choose the right devices in terms of power so that they protect the entire area.

Do-it-yourself repellent devices

In the process of fighting this voracious animal, it was found that he is afraid of noise. If loud sounds are constantly present in the area, then the pest tries to leave this area.

For implementation this method struggle, you will need metal rods up to 1 meter long. To these rods, any accessible ways fastened cans from beer or condensed milk. Under the influence of the wind, they will make quite loud sounds, which may not please not only mole rats, but also neighbors.