Why do we need rodents?

Rodent´s are natures collectors.
Chipmunks stuff food into their jaw pouches to store underground.
They may store fruits and seeds in several different borrows.
Borrowing helps turn soils and allows water to flow to deep plant roots.







Rodent´s are also natures foresters.
Gray squirrels and other squirrels are important to the life of the forest.
They bury a lot of their food in the summer and fall but often don´t find it again. Those lost and nuts and seeds become many of the new trees and shrubs that sprout each year!







Rodent´s are also natures builders.
Beaver´s build dams, lodges, and canals.
Colonies of mole rats excavate complex tunnel systems.
Muskrats and other aquatic rodents make grass lodges in swampy areas.
Squirrels create tree cavities and leaf nests.
The ponds behind beaver dams provide feeding,
resting and nesting sites for migratory birds.

How do rodents protect themselves?

Some rodents, like spiny mice and porcupines, have special sharp hairs called "quills" that help protect them from danger. Each porcupine has tens of thousnads of quills, making them some of the best-armored mammals ever.
Porcupines don´t purposely shoot quills off their bodies, the quills are so ligthly attached to the porcupines body that they immediately adhere to any predator that touches them. Ouch!