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TopClicks
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Animals, Pets & More
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Mammals
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Rodents
Best Gerbil Links on the Web - One of the places kids learn about gerbils might be in their classrooms. Another place is right here at this page. A lot of sites about gerbils have been collected at this location. You can read about how to take care of gerbils, and you can even read about gerbils owned by kids all over the world. We liked the one about Itchy and Scratchy. Why don't you check it out?
Capybara Page - What would you get if you crossed a guinea pig and a hippopotamus? Probably something that looks like a capybara. These large, friendly rodents are rather vocal, making a series of strange clicks, squeaks, and grunts. Although they adapt easily to captivity, mice and rodent collectors will have to pass this one by as a pet: capybaras are the largest living rodents on Earth, weighing in at 100 pounds or more! Great-grandma calls them "outdoor hamsters."
Discovery Online -- Animal Cams: Naked Mole-Rat - The Discovery Channel offers a whole spectrum of web cams--from penguins in Montreal to puppies in Miami. This particular link features Naked Mole-Rats foraging about their habitat at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Every minute, a camera peers into a nest box and snaps a photo. You might see one of the 52 mole-rats gnawing on a treat, or looking back up at--you!
Hinterland Who's Who - Beavers - This site makes the case that the beaver has greatly influenced the development and settlement of Canada, from the 1600s on. Explorers and trappers pushed farther and farther into the wilderness seeking more beaver for their pelts, which could be sold at a high price. Beavers now appear on Canadian stamps and coins, as well as on North American wilderness lakes. This page shows beaver tracks, illustrates how they engineer their dams and lodges, and explains the many uses of those broad, flat tails.
Hinterland Who's Who - Chipmunks - Who can resist these friendly little striped creatures? They are fun to watch and can easily be tamed to take peanuts or seeds from your hand. They sit on your hand and push peanuts into cheek pouches, turning the nut over and over, trying it this way, then trying it that way, until they get the perfect fit. Then they run off to store the nuts in their burrows. They have "dominance areas" of territory usually ranging from one to three acres, which includes their burrow. They usually don't go into another chipmunk's territory, but if one trespasses, there is general chasing and chattering and lots of excitement.
Hinterland Who's Who - Eastern Grey Squirrel - We have three types of squirrels banging on our windows for food: gray, black, and red. Actually, the first two are just color variations of the same species: Sciurus carolinensis, the eastern grey squirrel. The average life span of one of these squirrels is 12.5 years, although there has been at least one instance of a captive squirrel living for 20 years! Apparently, squirrels exist everywhere except Australia, southern South America, and some desert regions.
Hinterland Who's Who - Lemmings - Is it true that arctic herds of these mouselike critters throw themselves into the sea if there's a lack of food available? Although there is no firsthand evidence of this, their numbers do fluctuate dramatically from year to year. Sometimes there are lemmings everywhere you look, while other years you'd be hard pressed to find a lemming for miles of treeless tundra. What's going on? The cycle seems to take four years from "lots of lemmings" to "hey, did these guys just go extinct, or what?" This site takes some guesses as to the reasons. What do you think?
Hinterland Who's Who - Muskrat - It's not a beaver; it's not even a rat--it's really an overgrown field mouse that has adapted to life in and around wetlands all over North America. They don't build dams, but they do dig burrows in the soil along riverbanks. Muskrats have thick waterproof fur and can remain totally submerged for more than 15 minutes. This helps them dig underwater, root out tasty plants, and escape predators.
Hinterland Who's Who - Porcupine - How do you pet a porcupine? Very carefully, of course. His long brown guard hairs conceal barbed quills, which can be five inches long. Some people believe that porcupines can "throw" their quills, but that's not true. The porcupine's favorite foods include water lilies and other water-loving plants. Sometimes these creatures can be seen swimming (the air trapped in their quills helps keep them afloat). Learn more about this unusual rodent at this site.
Hinterland Who's Who - Woodchuck - The woodchuck is one creature that has actually benefited from forests being cleared to plant pastures and crops. If the land is well drained, there is probably a woodchuck or two about somewhere. At this site you can see a cross-section of an underground woodchuck burrow. In the winter, they hibernate, going into a deep sleep. They are able to lower their body temperature, reduce their heart rate, and reduce their oxygen consumption. In the spring, they awaken and come out to munch on the tender new vegetation--like the seedlings coming up in your garden! See also the HOLIDAYS--GROUNDHOG DAY section of this book.
Prairie Dogs @ Nationalgeographic.com - Wow! Did you know that prairie dogs live underground? They are burrowing rodents a foot or so in length, weighing from one to three pounds. They're related to squirrels, but some early settlers thought their barks sounded like those of dogs, thus the name. At this site, you can listen to that sound (and others--do you wonder what a group of prairie dogs sound like when they all bark at once?), see what they like for dinner, and check out their tunnel.
Rat and Mouse Club of America - Move over, Mickey--it's the Rat and Mouse Club of America (RMCA). These pages are absolutely stuffed with more information and resources about mice and rats than you can ever imagine. Rat and mouse pet show standards, photos, pet info--this site is a pack rat's dream come true.
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