Rodents are such diverse creatures. More than half the mammals on earth are rodents. Think about all the different types: Rabbits, mice, hamsters, those giant ones in South America, beavers, moles and guinea pigs. That’s a small sample from a much longer list.
What single behaviour do they all share? Actually there are many different behaviors that all rodents do such as seek a mate, breed, find food, go to the toilet and make nests.
One thing that is very rodent like and that they pretty much all do is this; they nibble. In fact they are very well adapted to the act of nibbling. The very word “rodent” acknowledges what makes them some of the best nibblers in the world – their teeth.
The “dent” in rodent comes from “dentures”, meaning teeth. The “ro” part probably means “long” in some ancient language.
The best of the rodent nibblers is of course the cute and hard working beaver. They can fell whole trees with those front teeth of theirs.
This nibbling behavior can cause damage to property in some cases, such as if the rodents are living in close proximity with humans. In these cases steps can be taken to control the rodents or remove them from the living space.
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