Burrowing Pests

The Cape Dune mole-rat

African mole-rat

The Cape Dune mole-rat is the largest completely subterranean mammal in Africa. The body is cylindrical covered in short thick fur, with short limbs and a tail. There is a stiff fringe of hair on the tail and on the outside edge of the hindfeet, this helps to control the soil while digging. The mole rat pushes soil through the tunnels of its burrow system by reversing. They are active excavators and can push as much as 500 kg of soil to the surface each month. Adapted for digging the eyes are small and there are no external ear pinnae. The nose is flat, with tough bare skin and valvular nostrils. One of the mole-rats most characteristic features are the large white protruding incisors. The lips close behind the grooved teeth, this stops the mole-rate from swallowing sand while digging or feeding. The feet have strong claws for digging.

Dune mole rats are solitary and aggressively territorial, each animal maintaining its own burrow system that is spaced apart from its neighbour. The animals rarely venture above ground, but are often forced above ground during the rainy season when the water table rises. The wet, cold animals are easy prey, their predators include snakes, eagles, jackals and Caracal.

Distribution
Soft coastal sands of the Western Cape.

Habitat
Soft sands of coastal strandveld

Size
Body length 250 – 350 mm; weight range 1 –2.5 kg

Gestation
93 - 94 days

Life span
12-15 years

Food
They eat bulbs, tubers, leaves and stems of plants.

Threats
Dune moles are economic pests. They undermine roads and runways and chew through subterranean cables and irrigation systems. They eat plants and their large mounds can cause damage to harvesting machinery.

Information source http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/mammals/
rodentia/bathyergus_suillus.htm

Molerats make up a family of rodents that are endemic to Africa. Rodent Moles are very similar to normal Moles and have habits that are exactly like the poor sighted Mole. Mole rats have keen burrowing habits, large incisor teeth, similar looks and poor eyesight! The Common Molerats of South Africa live in groups inside burrows, which are mainly dug by using their incisors. Soil becomes loose underground and is thrown up by the Common Molerat, this is not a tactic loved by gardeners! After rains, the Common Molerat builds tunnels of up to 15cm below the ground surface.

This underground dwelling mammal is often referred to as the African Mole Rat.

In the Common Molerat burrows, breeding takes place and 1-5 young rodents are born weighing in at around 9 grams, they can have their young at anytime during the year. The Common Molerat occasionally looks for better feeding grounds, when the rodent mole does this at night it is very vulnerable to predation and predators like Owls.

The fur of this South African rodent is silky, soft and quite short. The colour of the Mole-rat depends on the colour of the soil it is burrowing in and it is most like the Cape Molerat. The Common Molerat is more brown in colour than it's counterpart and lacks white patches on the nose, ear, eye and throat. This rodent has no scent glands, but has keen sense of smell and hearing, so it is not an easy job to approach a Common Molerat. It has very poor eye-sight.

Distribution
The Common Molerat is found all throughout South Africa except in the far left hand corner of the Northern Province

Habitat
It is found in all sorts of habitats (Although thought to be water-dependant). The soil does not matter too much in the case of this rodent as long as it is not hard soil or some types of clay soil.

Size
The Common Molerat can way anything from 100-145 grams and is usually around 16cm long.

Food
The Common Molerat is mainly a vegetarian herbivore that eats roots, tubers, grasses, leaves and bulbs, but occasionally this rodent feeds on small vertebrates.

Threats
Is most like the Cape Molerat

Information source http://www.south-african-game-reserves.com/allmammals/common-molerat.htm