European Hamster

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This is the European Hamster, aka "Fieldhamster", "European black-bellied Hamster", Scientific name: Cricetus cricetus

Natural environment:
European lowlands, originally in the central and eastern parts of europe (Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, northern Spain, northern Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Russia).

Fieldhamsters are living in burrows up to 2m deep, building colonies that way, each burrow is in sight of others. Their behavior is very territorial and not sociable. They´re aggressive against humans and an encounter with them could result in serious injuries ! Invaders will be attacked - they don´t fear humans or other bigger animals.

So avoid invading their territory !

The European Hamster was first documented in 1679 and named in 1758. It is the largest hamster species. Length: males 27-32 cm, females 22-25 cm

a Youngster

Allthough the European Hamster has been very common in Europe till the 19th century, they´d been hunted down merciless during the last decades and now this species is near extinction in whole europe !

Even if they´re now under the strongest possible protection of the European Union, the destruction by poison (illegal since 1990), the changes in agricultural practices and the disappearance of habitats wont leave enough space left for the species to survive. In order to rescue the species, there are projects running to keep them in captivity and maybe breed them as pets for the future.

The European Hamster is one more evidence for the irresponsible behavior of mankind.