仓鼠的历史
It all began in 1930 with one mother and twelve young hamsters that a zoologist found in the Syrian Desert (situated in the Middle East to the north of Israel). Deep in a burrow eight feet underground he came upon a hamster mother and her litter. By the time he got his tiny family back to his laboratory in Jerusalem. All but three of them had died or escaped. These three, however, continued in excellent health and within four months the first litter of Golden Hamsters ever to be born in captivity was delivered.
As they matured, these babies were interbred, and as the tame hamsters multiplied they were used in research experiments. Soon they began to attract widespread attention in the scientific world. Because hamsters were so disease-free and bred so rapidly (they can have a new litter every month!) and because they were so friendly and easy to handle, they came to be highly regarded as laboratory animals and their fame spread throughout the world accordingly. They're often used for cardio-vascular research, as their cardio-vascular system is remarkably similar to that of the human.
From Jerusalem, scientists took them to laboratories in France, England and, in 1938, to the United States. All present-day Golden Hamsters in captivity with the exception of a few brought back by travelers and military men are the descendants of that first tiny family found in Syria.
In Syria and other Middle Eastern countries where hamsters are common, the farmers do not only harvest their own fields, they dig into the hamsters' granaries as well. In each burrow they find a storage bin which may hold anywhere between 30 and 60 pounds of grain which the hamsters have stored away for the winter.
Hamsters got their name from an old German word associated with storing food. (The word "hamper" comes from the same root.) One of the characteristics of the hamster, like many rodents, is to stuff their cheeks full of food, which is a hamster-like activity.
这一切都始于 1930 年,动物学家在叙利亚沙漠(位于以色列北部的中东)发现了一位母亲和十二只幼小仓鼠。在地下八英尺深处的一个洞穴里,他遇到了一只仓鼠妈妈和她的窝。当他把他的小家庭带回他在耶路撒冷的实验室时。除了三个人之外,其他人都已经死亡或逃跑了。然而,这三个人的健康状况一直很好,在四个月内,第一窝被圈养的金仓鼠出生了。
随着它们的成熟,这些婴儿被杂交,随着驯服的仓鼠成倍增加,它们被用于研究实验。很快,它们开始在科学界引起广泛关注。因为仓鼠没有疾病,繁殖速度很快(它们每个月都可以生一窝!),而且因为它们非常友好和易于处理,它们被高度评价为实验动物,它们的名声也因此传遍了世界。 . 它们经常用于心血管研究,因为它们的心血管系统与人类非常相似。
科学家们从耶路撒冷将它们带到法国、英国的实验室,并于 1938 年带到美国。除了少数被旅行者和军人带回的金仓鼠外,所有现在被囚禁的金仓鼠都是在叙利亚发现的第一个小家庭的后代。
在仓鼠出没的叙利亚等中东国家,农民不仅收割自己的田地,还挖仓鼠的粮仓。在每个洞穴里,他们找到一个储藏箱,里面可以装 30 到 60 磅仓鼠过冬的谷物。
仓鼠的名字来源于一个与储存食物有关的古老德语单词。(“hamper”这个词来自同一个词根。)仓鼠的一个特点,就像许多啮齿动物一样,是用食物塞满脸颊,这是一种类似仓鼠的活动。