The naked mole rat, known in many parts of Africa as a ‘sand puppy’, is really neither a mole nor a rat; its closest relatives are actually porcupines. Weighing as little as 1 oz, these small guys burrow long tunnels in which their entire colony lives. Every colony has a leader called the ‘queen’, who is the only female in the colony allowed to procreate. So come hail the queen and meet her new little ‘sand puppy’, Najah, born March 16, 2011!
Learn more about naked mole rats!
