JERBOAS

When you first take a look at this little critter, your brain would most likely short-circuit whilst taking in what it looks like. “Is it a kangaroo or a mouse?” would likely be what you have in mind after the first glimpse at the little creature. While looking absolutely adorable despite how they’re looked down upon as the rodent family (unless you’re scared of rodents) those little creatures are one of the most capable runners in the world.

ANATOMY

Unlike their whole family tree, jerboas don’t actually use their frontal limbs to move, rather, their front limbs are too short to be used for transportation. Which allows us to name them obligate bipeds. As the name suggests, animals who are obligated to use only their legs to move around. But don’t let this handicap fool you. Despite having only 2 limbs to move around, jerboas can reach an outstanding speed of 24 km/h, capable of outrunning most of its natural predators. Other than running capability, jerboas also have big ears and metatarsal bones who aid jerboas in escaping, self-defense and survival mechanisms.

The big ears help him, as expected, to hear better and locate their hunters before they come close to him, resulting in an easier escape. But the size of those ears aren’t only for hearing, but also for a better temperature balance throughout the body. The metatarsal bones, which could be simplified to having strong toes, give him a cannon-like ability to launch himself at great distances with a sudden burst of power. While the body length ranges from 10 – 30 cm, they can jump up to an astonishing 3 meters high. Those are what truly differs jerboa from the other species of the same family. The rest of his features are what we normally see in other species. Like having a skull that’s forward-shifted and one that has a hole in it, or their fur resembling the color of the sand, considering that they live in deserts mostly, or how they have a bunch of fur at their feet to stabilize whilst moving around, or something as simple as having a very, very long tail.

BEHAVIOUR

The jerboas express bipedal transportation in various gaits, such as hopping, skipping, and running; these are associated with fast and frequent unpredictable variations in both speed and direction that enhance predator evasion over quadrupedal transportation.

Activity patterns of jerboas are crepuscular, which basically means they are most active at twilight. In the heat of the day, they take cover in burrows. At night, they leave the burrows because of the cooler temperature of their environment. They build the entrances to their burrow near plant life, especially along field borders. During the rainy season, they make tunnels in mounds or hills to lessen the risk of flooding. During summer, jerboas occupying holes plug the entrance in order to keep out hot air and, some researchers speculate, predators. In most cases, burrows are built with an escape exit that ends just below the surface or opens at the surface but is not strongly obstructed. By doing this, the jerboa can quickly escape predators.

Since the jerboas dig in the sand, they have adapted to such an environment; their skin folds and hair protect their ears and nose from getting sand into them.

The said jerboas generally have four types of burrows. One is a temporary, summer day burrow that provides cover for hunting during the day. A second is a temporary burrow used when hunting at night. Two permanent burrows exist: one for summer and one for winter. The permanent summer burrow is actively used during the summer and younglings are kept and cared for there. Jerboas hibernate during the winter and use the permanent winter burrow for this activity. Temporary burrows are shorter in length than permanent burrows. Like other animals that hibernate, these animals are heavier pre-hibernation specifically in ungrazed sites. In addition, more food availability during pre-hibernation leads to larger jerboa body mass in ungrazed areas, and attracts more jerboas to migrate into ungrazed areas during post-hibernation. Jerboas build burrows for refuge from rapacity and bad weather conditions. They will instinctively react to winter conditions such as low temperatures and famine by digging a winter burrow in which to hibernate. Winter burrows are much longer, deeper, and have more entrance holes compared to summer burrows. Feeding sites can be found in these burrows also. Jerboas are solitary animals. Usually, as adults, they occupy only their own burrow and live alone. However, occasionally “flabby colonies” may form where some species of jerboa dig communal burrows, which is beneficial to them as it provides extra warmth when it is especially cold outside.

DIET

There isn’t much to say about their diet, given how small of a palette we’re considering. Their diet consists of plant materials, yet they can’t chew hard seeds nonetheless. Although some of the bigger species of jerboas are seen to feed on plants and insects too.

Unlike other critters who rely on a plant-based diet, jerboas are one of the species that don’t store their foods.Also, like many animals who live in deserts, jerboas don’t drink water directly. Rather, they choose to eat wet desert plants to quench their thirst. They also dig up and eat the plant’s roots and eat them if they can’t satisfy their thirst with the top of the plant.