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Article: Lives of a mole rat.(naked mole rats)
- Article from:
- Science News for Kids
- Article date:
- December 6, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Some animals are easy to love. Mole rats don't fit into this category.
With their huge teeth, squinty eyes, piglike noses, and, in some cases, wrinkled, nearly hairless bodies, mole rats aren't exactly cute and cuddly. The pesky rodents also steal food from farmers.
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Scientists who study mole rats, however, are smitten with the toothy critters, whose bodies, brains, and social lives offer a wealth of possibilities for research.
These animals use their protruding teeth to dig networks of underground tunnels. They live in complex societies, like termites and honeybees do. One species even has do-nothing couch ...