Jan 3, 2007

Microwaved Hotdogs & Mole-Rats

I've posted on the naked mole-rat before (see this link), but I've recently received a couple of requests to invite them back. Katy sent me this photo, then Lani sent me this article, which has this to say about this rodent's appearance:

"Picture a hot dog that's been left in a microwave a little too long, add some buck teeth at one end, and you've got a fairly good idea of what a Naked Mole Rat looks like."

I love it. But you needn't fear running across one of these in the wild, unless you are one of my African readers. Even then, you probably haven't ever seen one. They live underground and never venture top-side.

The naked mole-rat makes for great children's book material. That's a good thing; we want our kids to know that ugly has its place, too.

Thanks for the links, Katy and Lani!

Photos (1 & 2) courtesy: Lisa

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never thought a baby anything could be ugly. Then I saw this. How can something so young look so haggard? Sorry baby mole rat, you still have a special place in our world!

Sweet Potato said...

An old joke from my college dorm was that naked mole rats look like elderly male genitals. I guess the hot dog analogy is accurate too.

Raging Wombat said...

Even ugly babies need a home. Even if it is just ones and zeroes.