Naked Mole Rats are Popular

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Inside a small clear tube, a naked mole-rat decides to change direction. Contorting its wrinkled, hot dog-shaped body, the animal nearly somersaults over itself and pokes out its head on the other side. It shows off four big teeth, sniffs the air and turns around again.

Watch a naked mole-rat for a while, and you'll see this happen over and over and over. It's the nonstop movement and unusual characteristics — certainly not its beauty — that make mole-rats a hit with zoo visitors, especially children."

They're so ugly, they're cute," said Knoxville Zoo keeper Cathleen Wise. "You can't help (look at them). There's always something to watch."

The Knoxville Zoo has joined a handful of zoos across the country with the strange creatures when it opened the "Naturally Naked Mole-Rats" exhibit on March 31.

Natives of Africa, naked mole-rats are the only eusocial mammals, meaning they live in a colony ruled by a queen, the only female who reproduces.

In the wild, they spend nearly all their time underground, but despite their name they are neither moles nor rates. Mole-rats are more closely related to chinchillas, guinea pigs and porcupines.

...definately to be checked out...

Newsvine - Knoxville Zoo Opens Naked Mole-Rat Exhibit

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