reuben
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Post by reuben on Dec 18, 2018 7:09:00 GMT -8
“After months of anticipation, the naked mole-rat colony at the Small Mammal House at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo finally has a queen,” the zoo announced on Monday.
Naked mole rats have a few unique qualities. For one, they’re blind. And they’re considered to be among the “most prolific mammal breeders in the world,” according to the zoo. They queen has a 70-day gestation period and can have more than 30 babies in a litter.
After giving birth, the queen takes care of her offspring while the other naked mole rats bring her food so she doesn’t have to move, zoo officials said. The offspring usually nurse for about a month and then start trying solid foods in about two weeks.
The pups also eat the feces of other workers in the colony. It “inoculates their digestive systems with beneficial gut fauna,” according to zoo officials.
So if your kids are asking for a puppy for Christmas, you might want to start them off small with a blind naked mole rat queen.
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balzaccom
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Post by balzaccom on Dec 18, 2018 7:15:22 GMT -8
And merry Christmas to you, too! Reuben. LMAO
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RedDoug
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Post by RedDoug on Dec 20, 2018 22:37:03 GMT -8
I read the title of this thread and thought, yep, that has to be disappointing, so I opened it, and sure enough, naked mole rats..... Yep, pretty much what I expected.
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toejam
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Post by toejam on Dec 21, 2018 1:37:32 GMT -8
What a hellish existence.
Really horrible people probably come back as blind naked mole rats.
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Post by catonsvillebill on Dec 21, 2018 6:31:23 GMT -8
Can you grill them? Do they taste like bacon?
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Dec 21, 2018 7:08:09 GMT -8
Can you grill them? Do they taste like bacon? Good question. I'm thinking that they should be wrapped in bacon and grilled. Or maybe skewered and grilled as appetizers. I can see a street or stadium vendor in the future being sued after they're exposed for substituting blind naked mole rats for hot dogs. |
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whistlepunk
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Post by whistlepunk on Dec 21, 2018 14:35:10 GMT -8
The grandkids asked for a puppy for Christmas.
We were going a bake a ham, but whatever they want!
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RedDoug
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Post by RedDoug on Dec 22, 2018 20:56:35 GMT -8
Can you grill them? Do they taste like bacon? Another reason I am delighted to be a vegetarian. So far this thread hasn't gotten much better, but Reuben isn't the average thread starter either. |
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Mar 13, 2019 9:51:18 GMT -8
Woo hoo! More blind naked mole rats! The revolution lives!!! A prolific one, she is, Washington’s queen of the naked mole-rats. Over the weekend, according to the National Zoo, seven new mole-rat pups were welcomed.
They were born during the day and overnight Saturday, the zoo said. The pups, as the newborns are called, and the naked mole-rat colony into which they were born “all appear to be doing well,” the zoo said Sunday.
The appearance of the newborn members of the breed prompted the zoo to tweet, with what appeared to be a puckish sense of fun, a “ROYAL BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT.”
Lest misunderstanding ensue, all three words appeared in capital letters.www.washingtonpost.com/local/more-mole-rats-born-at-the-national-zoo-to-the-mole-rat-queen/2019/03/11/f5938c82-43bb-11e9-8aab-95b8d80a1e4f_story.html |
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Jul 11, 2019 5:33:07 GMT -8
For those yearning for more info, the Smithsonian will host an event dedicated to blind naked mole rats.
And to sweeten the pot - Participants receive a naked mole-rat plush toy to take home! |
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Post by Lamebeaver on Jul 11, 2019 5:54:17 GMT -8
So, in the world of naked mole rats, is the one-eyed rat king?
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Jul 11, 2019 6:05:09 GMT -8
This should be a Disney movie, like The Lion King. To answer your question more directly, it seems as though there is a queen and everyone else, similar to bees. |
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reuben
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Post by reuben on May 14, 2020 15:18:13 GMT -8
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Post by absarokanaut on May 14, 2020 15:42:00 GMT -8
I was just about to have dinner man!
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balzaccom
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Post by balzaccom on May 14, 2020 16:17:03 GMT -8
I once made a presentation at the Smithsonian. I was thinking it was a nice honor, Now....not so much.
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