Rodents are Cuter than you Think Quiz

Answer: Dormouse

The hazel dormouse is the only dormouse native to Britain. It lives mainly in trees and avoids crossing open ground as much as possible in order to avoid danger. It has a varied diet consisting mainly of berries nuts and seeds, but it will also eat aphids and caterpillars, pollen rich flowers and leaf buds on trees. It has protected status under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

From October to April it builds a nest and hibernates. When it wakes, if it finds the temperature is too low and food is scarce it curls up into a ball and goes into a sort of torpor until such time as weather conditions improve.

Answer: Andes

Chinchillas used to found all over the Andes, living at heights of up to 14,000 feet. Today wild colonies are found only in Peru and Chile. They are classed as critically endangered. The wild population number has dropped by some 90% in the last twenty years, and this is mainly due to hunting.

They were much prized by the fur trade. Today fur is worn less, and with protected status it is hoped that their numbers will recover. They can be found in wildlife parks and zoos all over the world so there is a good captive breeding population.

Answer: Gopher

The gopher is noted for the extensive network of tunnels it burrows out underground. It uses these not only to get around safe from predators but also for food storage. They have large cheek pouches and in these they carry food that they collect to their underground storage area.

As their fur is often very close in colour to the soil they burrow into they can be quite hard to spot. Quite often they are regarded as agricultural pests as they will burrow into vegetable gardens, crop fields, anywhere where there is a good food supply. Outside the breeding season they are solitary and territorial, sometimes quite aggressively so.

Answer: Dormouse

The Glis glis is the largest of all the dormice, and because it has a bushy tail, sightings of it have sometimes been mistaken for a small squirrel. It is not native to Britain. It was possibly introduced by the Romans who may have brought some with them when they invaded as a food source for the army. There is scientific evidence to show that it is related to Glis glis found in northern Italy. In England it lives only an area between Beaconsfield, Aylesbury and Luton.

It has some protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, but despite this many do regard it as a pest. It is very fond of living in insulated attics, and this has led to house fires due to gnawed electric cables.

Answer: Chipmunk

With the exception of the Siberian chipmunk, which is found in Asia, all chipmunks live in North America. They are below ground dwellers, living in an extensive system of burrows. They have a varied diet, eating seeds, nuts, berries, worms, bird eggs and even small frogs. If you observe them in captivity they seem exceptionally energetic, dashing and climbing all over the place.

In truth though they actually sleep around fifteen hours a day. It has been observed that animals that can sleep in safety, such as those with underground burrows, sleep on average much longer than those that sleep in the open and have to stay alert for predators.

Answer: Lemming

Lemmings are found in or near Arctic areas. Unlike others they do not hibernate, even though winter conditions are harsh in their habitat. They dig through the snow to find food, and also store grass and other foods in larder stores in advance of winter. Normally they are quite solitary creatures. Contrary to popular belief they do not commit mass suicide when their population becomes too big.

At times of increased population some lemmings migrate in some numbers. This migration involves crossing water, and although they can swim many will drown if the water is so wide or deep as to tax their abilities to the limit. Also the Norwegian lemming is known to have wide population fluctuations, dropping to near extinction levels every few years. The drownings and the natural fluctuations seem to be the basis for the suicide stories.

Answer: Beaver

The capybara is the largest rodent in the world, with the beaver being the second largest. They are mainly nocturnal, although daytime sightings are not uncommon, especially when they are colonising a new area. They live in lodges and build dams and canals, constructed by felling trees with their teeth, to create deep still water to protect their homes and themselves from predators.

These can cause floods and has led some to regard the beaver as a pest, especially when agricultural land becomes flooded.

Their dams can also prevent streams flowing freely leading to problems on farms who rely on a natural water supply for their farm animals. Once their North American population was in excess of sixty million, but hunting for their fur, and for their glands which were used for perfumes and some medicines, decimated these numbers.

Answer: Mink

Water vole, which are sometimes mistake for the brown rat, live in river banks as well as reedbeds and wetland areas. Signs that one is present include burrow holes in a riverbank as well as a nibbled area of grass to create almost a little lawn by the side of the river. They like to sit and eat in the same place, so small piled of nibbled grass will often be found at their favourite feeding spot.

Numbers are in massive decline, and have been since the 1960s. Much of this is attributed to the American mink. There were several mink farms in the UK, and animals from these got into the wild. Some escaped, but many were actually set free by animal activists. The effect they have had on the water vole, as well as other river dwelling creatures has been horrendous. The water vole population alone has dropped from some eight million to around two hundred thousand. Although they have full protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act nothing can protect them from the mink, which still have a sizeable wild population.

Answer: Muskrat

Muskrats are native to North America, although they have been introduced to South America, Asia and Europe. Sometimes their long, slightly thickened tail, can lead them to be mistaken for beaver or even giant rats. Unlike the beaver though the tail is covered in scales to help them swim rather than in fur.

It is also much longer, accounting for half their body length. Their preferred habitat is wetlands, and their selective eating of preferred plant species can actually change the types of plants found, especially in prairie wetlands.

Answer: Patagonian mara

The Patagonian mara is also sometimes called the Patagonian hare. When running it has been compared more to a deer or antelope. It can only be found in Argentina, where it is at near critical status due to hunting for skin, and loss of habitat. It feeds mainly on grass and other vegetation. Even though they live in communal burrows maras are monogamous and mate for life.

A female will produce only one litter a year in the wild. Litters are raised by the whole community with several being placed together in a nursery den. Parents visit frequently to feed the young, and a nursing mother will often feed babies that are not her own.