Imagine running in the dark with your eyes closed
Naked mole rats live in the dark. Though they can see with their tiny eyes, they often choose to run through their tunnel systems with their eyes closed.
These amazing creatures live in colonies like bees with workers and soldiers who live to serve their Queen, who is the mother of them all. What I think is most amazing is that their Queen teaches her subjects to speak in a distinct dialect unique to their colony. These xenophobes are very protective of their own and don’t take kindly to strangers.
The “toilet call”
The NMRs are constantly chattering to one another. Through their chirps, squeaks, twitters and grunts, researchers have identified at least 25 different sounds including the "toilet call." The naked mole rats have a communal toilet chamber and the queen sings a little song when she goes in there.
These hairless, crinkly skinned rodents with walrus like teeth make me smile. I hope they make you smile too.
Photo courtesy of: John Brighenti from Rockville, MD, United States, CC BY 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Face_Only_a_Naked_Mole_Rat_Queen_Could_Love..._(32757810517).jpg
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960497406/friend-or-foe-naked-mole-rats-can-tell-by-a-unique-squeak
https://www.alliancetheatre.org/content/10-things-about-naked-mole-rats-you-didnt-know-you-needed-know