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Save some of Europe's most threatened animals
0% complete
€317 raised of €15K
15 donations
We are urgently fund-raising to save one of the most threatened, and strangest, wild animals in Europe.
There are just 6 known natural populations of the Vojvodina Blind Mole-Rat in the world, and fewer than 1,000 animals. They are Critically Endangered with Extinction.
These Blind Mole-Rats
- Are neither rats nor moles! They are so secretive that they were only recognised as a species very recently;
- Are completely blind: their eyes are covered by skin;
- Live more than 20 years and seem to be immune to cancer;
- Live their whole lives underground in long burrow systems, where they love to eat plant roots and tubers;
- Dig their tunnels using their upper teeth as chisels and the bottom ones as shovels. When they close their mouths, the teeth stay on the outside so they can dig without getting soil in their mouths.
They are rapidly losing their homes to development and agriculture. Blind Mole-rats breed very slowly and live a long time, so the populations are easily devastated if their burrows are destroyed, for example by ploughing or house-building. They find it very hard to disperse if there are physical barriers (such as the foundations of roads and buildings, or rivers) and when they try to move above ground they are rapidly eaten by predators because they cannot see them coming. Therefore, Mammal Conservation Europe is supporting efforts to conserve remaining habitats and translocate the animals to new safe locations.
WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP TO SAVE THIS SPECIES BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
Your donation will support vital work to:
1. Ensure that habitat remains suitable for the species. For example, we will fund the removal of the highly invasive thorny Russian Olive Tree which will otherwise otherwise completely swamp the Madarasi Marhajárás' Nature Conservation Area, Hungary within 15 years, making this Vodjvodina mole-rat refuge completely unsuitable.
Potential relocation site safe from development
2. Support conservation and translocation efforts led by The University of Debrecen and the Natural History Museum, Hungary, by for example using cutting edge-techniques such as drones to locate remaining subpopulations.
3. Raise awareness of the plight of blind mole-rats and develop educational materials.
Thank you!
The invasive Russian Olive Trees that threaten the blind mole-rat population