Giant blind mole-rat

The giant blind mole-rat is native to the North Caucasus, Chechnya, and southern Kalmykia located between the northern ends of the Caspian and Black Seas. It is restricted to a range of less than , and its distribution within that area is quite patchy. It lives underground in burrows in damp, sandy soils in semidesert areas, in river valleys, on plains, in shrubby or reedy areas, and in disturbed and cultivated soils. ==Behaviour==

The giant blind mole-rat is active all year round. It lives a largely subterranean existence in the burrow that it digs and is believed to be monogamous. Breeding activities usually occur in December and January and females produce litters of two or three young. ==Status==

Within its range, the giant blind mole-rat has a patchy distribution and is thought to have an actual area of occupancy of less than . The sandy desert areas in which it lives are of little interest for agriculture, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, although previously listing it as vulnerable, now lists it as a "least-concern species" in its Red List of Threatened Species. ==References==