MY, WHAT big ears you have. This aptly named long-eared jerboa has some of the biggest ears on the planet — at least compared with its body size. Each ear is around 1.3 times the length of its head.
But elephants have nothing to worry about in the overall big-ear stakes: the long-eared jerboa is just 7 to 10 centimetres long, excluding its tail. The rodent lives in the deserts of north-west China and southern Mongolia, spending its days sealed inside a burrow, hiding from predators and the scorching heat.
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Once the cool of night descends, it digs itself out and goes in search of insects. Its large ears really are all the better to hear you with, helping it to find and catch prey in the dark – as well as listen out for any little owls looking for a furry snack.
And ears aren’t the long-eared jerboa’s only oversized feature. Unusually large hind feet help it to hop around the desert like a miniature kangaroo, while a tail twice as long as its body aids balance. Crucially, those aerodynamically dubious ears don’t get in the way as it bounces away from trouble, it simply flattens them against its head and body and off it goes. Eleanor Parsons
Photographer
Valeriy,
