Endangered small mammals!
Did you know that two groups of small mammals - the Rodentia (mice, beavers, squirrels) and Eulipotyphla (shrews, moles, hedgehogs) together contain nearly half of all known mammal species? Yet they are relatively ignored compared with the big iconic species.
![The critically endangered
Kondana soft-furred rat](/assets/images/blog/Kondana-soft-furred-rat.jpeg)
The critically endangered Kondana soft-furred rat
While areas protected for these iconic species will also help protect smaller ones, we agree with colleague Stuart Pimm, a world leader in species monitoring, who says ‘no doubt, rodents and shrews do not get the love they deserve!’.
![Santa Catarina Guinea
pig. Credit: Carolos H Salvador](/assets/images/blog/Santa-Catarina-guinea-pig2.png)
Santa Catarina Guinea pig. Credit: Carolos H Salvador
WildTrack is building a reference library of small mammal footprints towards identifying endangered species on our track plates. The top 20 threatened small mammals are reported here. The beautiful and critically endangered Kondana soft-furred rat in India remains only on a small 1km2 plateau, and the Santa Catarina Guinea pig (Cavia intermedia) is found only in 0.04km in southeastern South America - the smallest geographical range of any mammal. Hunting for meat has driven it to the brink of extinction.