Naked mole rats are possibly one of the most bizarre animals on the planet. They are the world’s only ectothermic mammals and can survive 18 minutes without oxygen.
Also unusual for mammals is that they are eusocial, which means they live in large colonies where only one female breeds and the other mole rats work for the colony.
This isn’t without consequences, as they live so long there is a risk of interbreeding.
Naked mole rats are native to the Horn of Africa and parts of Kenya, where they live underground in huge interconnected tunnel systems – with some parts 2.5 metres (6.5 feet) deep. Made up of nest chambers, toilet areas and food sources, these vast networks can stretch up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometres).
A typical colony contains around 70 mole rats, although numbers can reach up to 300.
This shouldn’t come as a surpise, as the naked mole rat is an incredibly prolific breeder: the queen can produce up to five litters each year, containing an average of 12 pups (although the maximum is around 30).
Top image: a naked mole-rat queen suckling pups. Credit: Getty