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If you have experienced caring for a pet hamster, then you probably already know how fast they multiply. And it's quite unbelievable how their much larger cousin, the European hamster, is now considered to be 'critically endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The European hamster at Vienna Central Cemetery | Source: @katanski (Wikipedia)

The European hamster is also known as the Eurasian hamster or black-bellied hamster. As its name suggests, it is mostly found in European countries such as Belgium, France, Russia, and Bulgaria. It has brown fur with white patches and its chest and belly are black.

It is a relative of the teddy bear hamster, a.k.a. Syrian hamster and dwarf hamster, which has been kept as pets by many worldwide for many years.

In captivity, the European hamster can live up to eight years and in some places where it used to be abundant, it was considered as a farmland pest.

However, this year the European hamster has been included in the IUCN Red List of Critically Endangered species, which are 6,811 in total.

According to IUCN, research has revealed that the population declines are possibly due to lowered reproduction rates.

From the usual number of over 20 offspring a year, a female hamster now only gives birth to about five or six pups annually.

“While conservation measures including hamster-friendly field management and reintroductions have slowed down the population decline in some areas, they have failed to reverse the trend,” said Dr. Mikhail Rusin, an author of the new Red List assessment, member of the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group and Head of the hamster restoration project in Kiev Zoo, Ukraine.

The European hamster is nearing extinction | Source: IUCN

The root cause of the huge decline in reproduction rates is yet to be determined but experts are looking into monoculture plantations, industrial development, global warming, and light pollution as its likely causes.

The IUCN also warned that if nothing changes, the European hamster could go extinct within the next 30 years.

Hence, it is urgently important to pinpoint the cause of reduced reproduction rates in order to save the European hamster from extinction.

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