Global360

Russian Desman  RUSSIAN DESMAN Animal: Russian Desman Class: Mammalia (Mammal) Species: Desmana moschata Status: Endangered Population Trend: Decreasing The Russian Desman is more or less what you'd get if you imagined crossing a platypus with a mole, and then gave it eyes that looked perpetually ally shocked. This semiaquatic native to Kazakh- stan, Russia, and maybe even Ukraine, spends its days messing around in whatever floodplains it can find its way into! As of right now, only about eight thousand to ten thousand desmans are still wildin' out in these areas, classifying them as Endangered. Dreading Droughts Since around the early twentieth century, these bizarre little furballs have been steadily decreasing because of land reclamation, construction  and poaching. Not to mention A LOT of droughts, which have really ruined the desman's day. This desman lives in an ambient temperature that drastically changes from season to season, so they're pretty good at adapting,...

European Hamster  EUROPEAN HAMSTER Animal: European Hamster, aka Common Hamster Class: Mammalia (Mammal) Species: Cricetus cricetus Status: Critically Endangered Population Trend: Decreasing Yup, you guessed it-these little beans are the wild relatives of the pet hamster you might have had growing up! They look like your typical hamster but mixed with a red panda because of their blotchy reddish-blackish coat. While the European Hamster is just as cute and chonky as its domesticated cousin, it is definitely not as snuggly. They are quite ferocious, even though they weigh only 1 pound (0.453 kilograms). But wow, are they cute! From "Common" to Not So Much The European Hamster, also called the Common Hamster, is actually not all that "common" any- more. Sadly, it recently went from Least Concern to Critically Endangered. While the European Hamster used to be found in cereal fields on löss (loess)/loamy soils and in natural steppes, the intensification of agriculture, ...