Blind, squeaking babies found in Chita flowerbed
Residents of Chita found several newborn squeaking rodents, their eyes still closed, in a flowerbed at their dacha plot in SNT Vostok (Glubokaya Pad).
«I suspect they are little chipmunks. Or maybe moles. We left them at the dacha, in the flowerbed, covered with grass. They clearly didn«t like that we found them,» said the plot owner.
The babies have not yet opened their eyes, but their bodies are already covered with short gray fuzz, indicating they are only a few days old.
Zoologist Yuri Bazhenov suggested they are vole pups.
«Blind babies of small rodents are quite similar to each other. Based on the dark fur color, medium-length tail, relatively large size, and the composition of the rodent fauna in the middle reaches of the Ingoda River, I can assume these are most likely babies of Maximovich«s vole. This rodent is widespread in the forest-steppe and southern part of the taiga zone of Transbaikal. It is a common species, reaching high numbers in some years. It feeds on green and underground parts of plants, and to a lesser extent on seeds. The size is quite large for a vole — body length up to about 15 centimeters (5.9 in),» said the zoologist.
