European hamster
The European hamster or common hamster (Cricetus cricetus), also called the black-bellied hamster, is the largest hamster. It lives on steppes and farmland from western Europe to Russia.[1][2][3]
Description
Adults measure 17 to 32 cm from head to rump, with a short tail of 3 to 7 cm, and weigh 150 to 700 g. Males are larger than females.[1][2] The upper fur is light russet, with white patches on the muzzle, cheeks, throat and front of the flanks, and the belly is black.[1][3] It has rounded ears, quite small eyes and large cheek pouches.[1] It has 22 chromosomes.[2]
Distribution and habitat
It once ranged widely across lowland Eurasia from Belgium to eastern Russia.[2] Its range reaches the Yenisey river in Siberia.[3] It lives on open steppe and grassland and in farmland with cereals and fodder crops, up to about 650 m, and avoids closely grazed pasture and wet ground.[1]
Behaviour
European hamsters are mostly nocturnal and solitary.[1][2][3] Each has its own burrow system, with separate chambers for sleeping and storing food.[1] Burrows are 30 to 60 cm deep in summer and up to 2 m in winter.[2] The hamster eats seeds, roots and tubers. Males range widely and mate with many females.[1][2] Squeaks, chirps and tooth grinding are among its sounds.[1]
Hibernation
It hibernates from about October to April.[1] Hibernation is triggered by short days and cold, and the body temperature can drop to 4 °C. The hamster wakes every five to seven days or so to eat from its stores.[2][1]
Decline
The European hamster was once so common that it was treated as a crop pest. About 1.5 million were trapped in Hungary in 1973, and about 1.3 million a year in Germany between 1953 and 1966.[2] It has declined steeply since the 1970s. It is protected under the 1979 Bern Convention, and it has disappeared from some areas of western Europe.[2][1] Aulagnier and colleagues note that it is still regarded as a pest in eastern Europe while threatened in the west.[1] Local numbers can surge to as many as 500 per hectare.[1] The IUCN Red List assessed it in 2019 as Critically Endangered, with a decreasing population.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Aulagnier, Stéphane; Haffner, Patrick; Mitchell-Jones, A. J.; Moutou, François; Zima, Jan (2025). Field Guide to Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (3rd ed.). Bloomsbury. pp. 76–79. ISBN 9781399414944.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Fenyk-Melody, Judy (2011). "The European Hamster". In Suckow, Mark A.; Stevens, Karla A.; Wilson, Ronald P. (eds.). The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster, and Other Rodents. Academic Press. ISBN 9780123809216.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lippert, S. (2020). "Cricetus cricetus". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan.
- ↑ Banaszek, A.; Bogomolov, P.; Feoktistova, N.; La Haye, M.; Monecke, S.; Reiners, T. E.; Rusin, M.; Surov, A.; Weinhold, U.; Ziomek, J. (2020). "Cricetus cricetus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T5529A111875852.en. Retrieved 2 November 2026.