Meet the naked mole-rat, which lives underground in East Africa. It has almost no fur, and its front teeth stick right out.
Kind of odd looking, but weirdly cute
A house mouse lives about 2 to 3 years, even with good care. But this rat has been recorded living more than 37 years.
37 yearsthe longest lifespan on record for a rodent
What's even stranger is how it ages. For most mammals, humans included, the chance of dying keeps going up with age.
Not for the naked mole-rat. Its chance of dying doesn't go up as it gets older.
Wait, so it doesn't get old?
It's a stretch to say it doesn't get old, but at least being older doesn't put it at more risk.
It rarely gets cancer, either. Scientists are studying it to find the secret to its long life.
The way they live is unusual too. Like ants or bees, one queen has all the babies, and the rest are split into workers and soldiers.
Guess we shouldn't make fun of it for being ugly
Sources
Photo credits
- Naked Mole Rat Eating.jpg, Ltshears - Trisha M Shears, Public domain (source)
- Model of naked mole-rat soldiers, workers, and queen.jpg, Chiswick Chap, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
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