NAKED MOLE RAT

CHARACTERISTICS: They have sensorial whiskers on their faces and on their tails (as they move backwards and forwards through their tunnel system) and have hairs between the toes on their feet which enable their feet to act like brooms with which to sweep the floor. Their skin is pink in colour, a little transparent on the lower part and purple-brown in the back and tail. They are almost blind.
DIET: It feeds on roots and tubers, damaging potato crops and other vegetables
REPRODUCTION: Only the queen reproduces. She mates only with some of the colony males and these relations may remain stable over many years. The other individuals in the colony help care for the young, supplying food and maintaining and defending the burrow system. They can have up to 27 young in a litter, on average 12, and up to 5 litters a year. The gestation period lasts for 70 days.
CURIOSITIES: They are the only eusocial mammals, they have a caste system: a queen and workers within one same colony. When the queen dies a few females fight amongst themselves for the succession, which may even lead to death. They have complex systems of underground burrows. Tunnels to connect to the nests, toilet area and food source distributed in galleries of 4cm in diameter and up to 2 metres depth, with a length of up to 4 Km. They must also cooperate in their thermal regulation, as they are unable to maintain their body temperature.