What does a jerboa eat in the desert? Types of jerboa with description and photo

An integral part of nature is the richest animal world of our planet. In forests, steppes and deserts, our smaller brothers live - various warm-blooded mammals. They need a careful attitude to themselves and protection from poachers. Only in this case, the next generation will be able to contemplate the wonderful animal world of the Earth.

Today we will tell about the jerboa - one of the most amusing representatives of the largest mammalian group of "rodents".

Habitat

Tushchenkovye - this is a fairly large family of rodents; Live practically on all continents. Namely, in the steppes, semi-deserts and deserts of the Palearctic. The latter means the following geographical regions:

• South of Europe.
• Asia north of the Himalayas, excluding the Arabian Peninsula.
• North Africa up to the south of the Sahara.

This section laconically answers the question of where the jerboa lives.

Appearance

The jerboa is a small rodent, reaching in length from 4 to 25 centimeters (depending on the species). It has a small trunk and a long tail with a tassel. It's funny that the tail sometimes turns out to be longer than the trunk. The brush also performs the function of steering when jumping in length - this is the funny way the animal moves.

The muzzle of the jerboa is rounded to the bottom. It clearly stands out two large eyes and two long ears. Also interesting are the teeth of the rodent: the number of them varies from 16 to 18 pieces, depending on the species, but the sharpness of canines is inherent in all representatives of this family.

The color of the rodent is represented by a rich palette of brown - from copper to beige. Depends on the color of the soil of the natural zone, which the animal chose for life. For example, the jerboa of the steppe will have a light brown fur. Color exactly matches the color of the soil inherent in this strip. The jerboa in the desert will be more reddish to merge with the endless sands that go beyond the horizon.

Wise nature ordered this way to protect a small animal from birds of prey.

Strengths and weaknesses of jerboa

The description of the jerboa is inconceivable without accentuating attention to its interesting external features.

These rodents have the following organs:

• Hind legs. All 26 species of jerboa have very strong hind legs. It is with their help that the animal can jump so fast and fun.
• Ears - large and long, clearly catching all the sounds of a deserted starry night.
• Mustache - the length reaches the heel. The most important organ of touch of these small mammals.

It is the organs listed above that are vital for jerboa. Due to ears and mustaches, a small animal feels an approaching predator, and strong paws help the rodent quickly escape into a cozy mink.

But vision and scent are poorly developed in jerboa.

Similarity with the gourmet rat

A typical jerboa is surprisingly similar to the funny animated character Ratatouille. He is just as fast, smart and direct. Watching the life of this rodent is no less interesting than watching the fascinating cartoon of Brad Bird.

By the way, we strongly recommend that everyone see "Ratatouille" in the original. The film is full of kindness, subtle humor and culinary delights. Gourmets will be delighted!

A quick and timid night dweller of deserts

This chapter will tell you about the life of jerboas in the wild. These amazing rodents lead a certain lifestyle, consider its features:

• Separation. Jerboa walk on their own, and converge only to reproduce the offspring.
• At night they are awake, and in the daytime they rest in mink.
• They do not like to take risks. A small and bright animal will never get out of his home unnecessarily, because he knows how dangerous and cruel the animal world is.
• They are excellent excavators. This skill is necessary for building underground dwellings. Very often the rodent encounters compacted soil, which you can not shovel with the front paws. In this case, sharp frontal canines are used. On this example, you can see again how harmonious and correct Mother Nature is.

Underground dwellings

These small rodents are excellent builders and just love to build cozy mink. Jerboa builds underground dwellings using sharp fangs and powerful front paws. They break ground beneath the ground, sometimes reaching up to one and a half to two meters deep. It is at this distance and there are warm nests of jerboas. They are made of wool, down, moss and dry leaves. A cozy monastery builds a jerboa, the photo only confirms this.

Dwellings of jerboa come:

• Temporary.
• Constant.

The latter, in turn, are divided into:

• Summer.
• Wintering.

Temporary dwellings of jerboas are more simple and located at shallow depths. The constant hole, on the contrary, is deep. The course to it can have a length of up to six meters, also, in addition to the main maze, the rodent necessarily makes additional branches to exit.

There are also known cases of life of jerboas in abandoned mink gophers.

Winter dormouse and spring ladies

All jerboa are characterized by hibernation. They fall into it with the onset of the first autumn cold weather (around October). They rest in the mink of rodents for about four months. True, sometimes wake up for a short period of time. As a rule, it is associated with a sharp warming.

Having thoroughly slept and having absorbed the calories accumulated over the summer, the jerboa is ready for reproduction. It is spring - the season of mating games for these rodents. It ends with a 25-day pregnancy of the female. On average, it gives birth to 3 to 6 calves. For a month and a half small rodents enjoy mother's custody. At the end of this period, they leave their native nests and go into adulthood.

What does a jerboa eat in the desert?

These rodents are omnivores. But the greatest preference is given to food of plant origin. True treats are various seeds, shoots and roots of plants. The rodent will not refuse from the nutritious seeds of watermelons, melons and cereals. If a rodent has not managed to find a life-giving oasis with green vegetation overnight, he may well be satisfied with insects and their larvae.

Another interesting fact is that the jerboa does not drink water at all. He has enough juices of those plants that he uses for food. This section answers the question of what a jerboa eats in the desert.

Predators and natural facts that destroy jerboa

It is clear that the animals can be dangerous. Toothbrush should be avoided:

• Reptiles.
• Large mammals.
• Birds of prey (eagles and hawks).

Anthropogenic factor also strongly influences the jerboa population. With the development of new natural areas by man (for example, the construction of high-rise buildings), the habitat of rodents also decreases.

This once again indicates that a person is obliged to reckon with the surrounding animal world.

Types of jerboa

Lizards, snakes, steppe wolves and tropical insects are typical desert animals. The jerboa is also a resident of these places.

Scientists number 26 different species of these mammals (where the jerboa lives, read on). On the territory of our country, these rodents live in the steppes and semi-deserts of the south of Siberia. The range of their habitat is captured by the Altai Territory, Transbaikalia and the southern regions of the Republic of Tuva.

We will analyze the most interesting representatives of the jerboa family, including species that inhabit the territory of Russia. We will also tell you what the jerboa feeds in the desert in more detail.

Long-eared jerboa

Inhabitant of the northern regions of China - Xinjiang and Alanasi. Sometimes it occurs in the southern Siberia. It is clear that jerboa problems with the transition of the border does not arise.

In length it reaches 9 centimeters, it has very long ears and antennae. The latter often reach the earth. The tail of this jerboa is longer than the trunk, and the brush on the end has a rounded shape. The color of the fur is gray with a reddish tint. The sides and abdomen are white, and the brush on the tail is black.
Here you can meet such an amusing jerboa, traveling along the amazing Altai edge. Only exclusively at night.

Five-fingered dwarfish jerboa

Until recently, he was considered exclusively an inhabitant of the Gobi Desert. But in 1961 a group of Soviet biologists led by Danila Berman discovered this species in the south of the Republic of Tuva.

The jerboa is quite small: it reaches 5 to 6 cm in length. The tail is larger than the trunk in size and is 8 cm. The eyes of the pygmy jerboa are typically large, and the ears, on the contrary, are small. The hind legs have five fingers and are very well developed.

Five-fingered dwarfish jerboa are nocturnal. Mink built in the spring at a shallow depth. Sometimes they can borrow a dwelling from their fellow Siberian jerboa.

What does a jerboa eat in the desert? A favorite delicacy is the seeds of feather grass. In the absence of these is content with insects.

Large jerboa (earthen hare)

The largest representative of this family of rodents. The length can reach up to 26 centimeters. The animal has a long tail with a nice brush, in shape resembling an elongated drop. The color of the earth hare is light brown, the shade of the skin varies depending on the habitat of the rodent.

Recognized as the most northern tusk in terms of habitat. Most often it can be found in the steppes of Kazakhstan and in southern Siberia; A little less often - along the southern tributaries of the Kama and the Oka. Even the inhabitants of the Crimea sometimes notice an earthen hare, who climbed to eat delicious seeds of millet or rye on the territory of some remote farm.

The earth hare is a graceful and beautiful jerboa. The photo speaks for itself.

Jerboa-jumper

This rodent is slightly inferior in size to an earth hare. Its length reaches from 19 to 22 centimeters. The wool of the jumper is either ohristo-brown or yellowish-gray. It feeds on seeds, green parts and bulbs of plants, and also - insects.

Habitat - steppes and sandy deserts of Central Asia (South-Eastern Altai and Northern Uzbekistan). Often lives in the mountains at an altitude of up to two kilometers above sea level. Sometimes it is called the jerboa of the steppe.

Imrananchik

Strangely enough, but this nice animal is also a jerboa. The animal is very small - it grows to 12 centimeters. The tail, as always, exceeds the length of the body and reaches 16 centimeters.

From all other species jerboa is different in that it lives in clayey steppes and in rubble deserts. However, sometimes found on sandy soils.

This rare species is common in the territory of Russia. He lives in the Dnieper, in the south of the Volga and near the Irtysh River. Also, some animals of this species inhabit the steppes of Kazakhstan.

A pet or a night-dweller of deserts?

Of course, the jerboa can be kept as a pet.

But is the true inhabitant of the deserts happy in a locked cage? Nature has awarded the jerboa with powerful hind legs so that he can jump and run in freedom, hunt for insect larvae and look for nutritious stems of plants (the description of the jerboa is presented above). In prison, he will not be able to realize his natural needs. Therefore, the answer is obvious - the correct place of residence of the jerboa, of course, is wildlife.

Interesting Facts:

• Moves exclusively on the two hind legs.
• Raging from a predator, develops a speed of up to 40 km / h.
• A real piece of cleanliness, not a pair of some upright! During the night an amazing animal cares about its fur from 20 to 30 times.
• Some species of jerboa are so miniature that they easily fit into a tablespoon.
• During the day, the rodent regulates body temperature independently. Sometimes the fluctuations are as much as 15 degrees! This is due to the very large difference between day and night temperatures in the desert. For example, in the Negev (this is a desert in the Middle East) in the daytime can be + 30, and at night only + 9. That is why desert animals are perfectly adapted to the strongest pressure drops and temperatures.
• Excess fat accumulates in the animal in the tail. It is for him to judge the health status of a specific jerboa.

The world of jerboa is interesting and multifaceted. We have considered only a small part of the interesting features of these funny animals. Nature generously rewarded the jerboa with the necessary skills that help them survive in the brutal, but surprisingly interesting desert world.