The giant mole-rat is one of the largest subterranean rodents in Africa. It lives in colonies in complex tunnel systems and has a strict social structure with a main breeding female.
The giant mole-rat differs from related species by its larger body size and pronounced eusocial colony structure. It loosens the soil, improves its structure, and helps plants spread.
underground foraging using teeth and paws
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Worker
birth time
breeding
Hot winter with almost no precipitation
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
About health
Warm or hot summer and rains
milk
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
land coast flooded by tides — salt marshes, littoral zone
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
roots of plants
Upcoming birthdays
protection
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
in a burrow
Limbs size
nest on the ground
Desert and dry shrubs
tubers
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
tubers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
roots
Lifespan average
in a terrestrial nest
Whiskers size
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
nest hidden in an underground burrow
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
bulbs
Pets
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
paw
Eyes size
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
terrestrial intertidal
drink mother's milk in childhood
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
grazing
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
nest hidden in an underground burrow, only the mother provides parental care for the offspring
steppe
herbivore
Describes food handling or digging performed with the forelimbs.
Feeds by cropping or nibbling low-growing vegetation or algae.
Incisors size
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
normal sexual
Taxons
if born as {name}
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
rest
bulbs and rhizomes — onion, tulip, narcissus
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
after transformation until death
Potential Habitat
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
winter dry and very warm
Gestation
from 130 grams to 0.5 kilograms, 0.35 – 0.8 meters
Body size
land
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
No results found
underground
Eyes color
On the map
bulbs
Female ♀
all life stages
Body color
world of Afrotropics
nest located directly on the ground surface on land
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
lots of grass, few trees, rains occur
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
Skin color
caring mother
lots of rain, summer from warm to very hot
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
world of Afrotropics
Duration
This is me
Gamers
How are they built?
Temperate steppe
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
food storage
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
roots and plant tubers
underground tubers — potato, cyclamen, tulip
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Denotes a grassland or steppe habitat preference.
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Incisors count
Zucchini
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Observations
◉{N} more on tap