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A surprising number of animals are burrowing. Dogs, wolves, and even polar bears dig holes for themselves and their families, but can they be considered burrowing animals? For the purposes of this blog, a burrowing animal is an animal that spends most of its life in its burrow and has a burrow that has a network of tunnels and chambers that serve various purposes, such as storing food, sleeping places, or kindergartens. Here are nine of these animals:
No. 9. Animals That Dig the Dungeon: Nude Mole Rat
This strange little animal lives in colonies that look more like ants and termites than mammals. The colony is dominated by the queen, and she is the only female allowed to breed. As with bees, breeding is her only job, and all the other naked mole rats in the colony do the job of raising the young, protecting the colony from invaders, and keeping the tunnels and chambers in order.
Naked mole rats are almost blind, but they do not need to see well in the eternal darkness of their burrows. These wonderful creatures living in East Africa can go without oxygen for a long time, have a high pain threshold, and do not seem to age. Their lifespan is surprisingly long for rodents. They are known to live for 30 years.
No. 8. Animals Hidden Underground: Mouse Spider
This sturdy spider lives in Australia, and it is the females that build burrows and spend most of their lives in them. Female mouse spiders are solid black, while some males are species-specific, such as the ginger mouse spider.
This spider’s burrows can be 8 to 22 inches deep and lined with silk. There is a chamber with a trap door near the main tunnel, which is used to protect the adult spider, its eggs and cubs from predators. Some mouse spider burrows have two doors, while others have one. Silk triple lines let the spider know if a prey or an interested male is nearby.
No. 7. Animals That Dig Dungeons: Prairie Dogs
Prairie dogs are a species of squirrel known for their burrow towns. It is found mainly in the western United States and Mexico. While these burrows have sometimes been problematic for farmers and ranchers, they play an important role in the ecosystem and prairie dogs are protected in some areas.
The burrow is built in such a way that the prairie dogs that live in it can keep warm in winter and cool in summer. They are well ventilated, protect tunnels and chambers from flooding, and can be from 33 feet to almost 10 meters in length. feet deep. The burrow can have up to six entrances and have chambers for babies, for sleeping at night, for shelter in winter and for shelter from predators, or even to listen to them.
No. 6. Animals that Dig the Dungeon: Bilby
Another inhabitant of Australia, little Bilby, has long rabbit ears, a kangaroo-like body and a possum-like tail. It is a marsupial animal, and the female’s pouch opens towards its back, which protects it from dirt while it digs a hole.
Bilby burrows are unique in that they spiral downward, which gives the animal an additional margin of protection from predators. Tunnels can be 10 feet long and 6.5 feet deep, and bilbies often have more than one. After they leave their mother’s bag, the young bilbies remain in the burrow, while she leaves to feed at sunset. Both males and females have burrows, and males leave their scent not only at the entrance to their burrow, but also in the female with whom they recently mated. This is supposed to scare off other males.
No. 5. Animals burrowing underground: Mole
A mole from the Talpidae family is ideal for a burrowing lifestyle. His experience in digging and digging holes made him a bit of a pest in many places. The European mole, which lives in Western Europe and eastern Russia, lives in a central chamber, from which several tunnels diverge. Since it lives mostly underground, the mole does not need good eyesight, which is why its eyes are tiny. At the same time, he has a keen sense of smell, touch and hearing.
The mole has velvet thick fur and huge outward-facing forepaws with strong claws and extra thumbs. The hind legs are reduced, but the shoulder muscles are powerful. Moles love earthworms, and their saliva contains a toxin that temporarily paralyzes the worm. This allows the mole to carry it back to the cell used as a pantry, so that it can then eat the worm fresh. Interestingly, moles are good swimmers, and the tiny tentacles that gave the North American star mole their name help the animal find prey in the water.
No. 4. Animals hiding underground: termites
While some termite mounds can grow many feet above the ground and last for centuries, they also create burrows or nests in the ground and rotting wood. Termites are found everywhere on Earth except Antarctica. They build their nests from feces, soil and partially eaten wood or other plant material, and there are some types of termites that create many interconnected nests called potassium. These nests are as complex as any apartment complex and serve nearly the same function. They protect termites from inclement weather, predators and disease, and are a place to raise babies and store food.
As with the diggers, th
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e is a fertile queen and a king who is her life companion. There may be a secondary or tertiary uterus. The soldiers protect the nest, and the workers do the rest, including taking care of the queen, whose belly sometimes swells so much with eggs that she cannot move. They keep the nest in good condition and take care of the eggs and nymphs. Workers are also termites that find food, digest cellulose, and feed their fellow workers.
Number 3. Animals hiding underground: badgers
Badgers are also built for burrowing: squat, squat bodies and long, strong claws. Most badgers are related to weasels and have a long head and snout, as well as small ears. They are found all over the world, with the exception of South America, Australia, and the Arctic and Antarctic regions. A badger burrow is called a settlement, and they can live there by themselves or in family groups called tets.
Like prairie dog burrows, the badger village has several entrances and interconnected tunnels. The tunnels can stretch up to 980 feet and are 6.6 feet deep with cameras for nurturing babies or sleeping. The tunnels are wide to accommodate the wide body of the badger. Debris, such as old bedding or even old bones of dead badgers, is often found in a heap at the entrances to the village. There is often one large village with several sets of satellites around it.
Badgers don’t even need to dig holes in the ground. They are known to dig under the foundations of buildings, footpaths and paved roads. In places where it gets very cold, badgers dig their sleeping chambers under the freezing line, and some of them will sleep in the same chamber for warmth.
No. 2. Animals That Dig Dungeons: Burrowing Owl
The burrowing owl is one of the few birds that live in a real burrow. Indeed, most often it moves into burrows freed by prairie dogs. Found in meadows in North and South America.
This little owl is also unusual in that it is active during the day, while other owls are active at night. They are similar to prairie dogs in that they sometimes live in colonies of other burrowing owls and sometimes live near farms, highways, and homes. They have even been found on airport runways. Another interesting feature of the burrowing owl is that it not only retreats into the hole if threatened, but also makes sounds that remind its pursuer of a dangerous rattlesnake.
A burrowing owl makes a nest in a hole lined with cow dung. It helps control the environment and attracts insect prey. He also spreads this manure around the burrow entrance. During the breeding season, the female incubates eggs, and the male feeds her, and after hatching, both parents take care of them.
# 1. Animals that Dig the Dungeon: Rabbit
Rabbit holes are known as minks and are interconnected burrows. Rabbit dens can be made by the rabbit itself, or made by human hands as pillow mounds. They have more than one hole and multiple chambers and are typically about 6.5 feet deep. Rabbits usually build them on slopes, riverbanks or streams because of better drainage, but they can build a maze almost anywhere a rabbit can dig. Rabbits spend most of the day in the burrow, and at night they go out to feed.
When it comes time to breed, the female builds a separate burrow inside the maze, called a stop, and lines it with her fur and plant material. After the babies are born, the mother covers the chamber with earth while she goes in search of food. This keeps the rabbits warm and protects them from threats, which, by the way, can be attributed to their own father.
Next: Chipmunk vs. Squirrel: 7 Key Differences Explained
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