Did you know? .........

[Maz]

Apparently there it is estimated that there are approximately 57 million pet hamsters worldwide. 600,000 pet hamsters in the Uk and approximately 1.7 million households in the US have a hamster.

That is an awful lot of hamsters!

 

[Maz]

It seems strange, because if you think of all the people you know (or me anyway), none of them have hamsters There must be a lot of people in our town with hamsters that I don't know of course.

It also brings up thoughts of maybe too much breedng - but I suppose all the hamsters in pet shops find homes.

One statistic I couldn't find anywhere was how many wild hamsters there are in the world. AI said there had been no census of that. So it seems nobody knows!

 

[Socks' Mum]

It is a very important question, especially for the Syrian hamster. Sadly security in Syria is not very stable and it must affect research and conservation work. I think the Syrian hamster is not safe in its home country, but there might be conservation work for hamsters in Turkey. The large part of the Syrian hamster population probably consists of captive animals, little exiles. Having Syrian hamsters in the wild doing well would be wonderful

 

[Maz]

The wild Syrian hamster population in Syria is an endangered species and yes I doubt the conservation program in Aleppo continued during conflicts, but can't find any information about it. On the other hand, if humans are creating destruction in areas, maybe hamsters thrive, due to the lack of farming and ground cultivation - we can hope. Destruction would probably mainly be in cities.

There are about 20 species of wild hamsters though and the dwarf species live mainly in deserts in various parts of the world - I'm surprised that research into them and their numbers no longer seems of interest.

Despite the war in Ukraine, it seems that Kyiv Zoo has had a breeding programme for European hamsters and then restoring them to the wild in protected areas

Second group of hamsters released on the Tarutino Steppe | Rewilding Europe

The Rewilding Ukraine team are engaged in long-term efforts to create a wilder and healthier Tarutino Steppe. The ongoing reintroduction of European hamsters will help to restore local food webs, enhance biodiversity, and boost nature-based tourism.

rewildingeurope.com

 

[Socks' Mum]

Brilliant, Ukraine are ahead in so many ways. I hope their hamsters stay safe
Yes, things must be extremely difficult in Syria. Perhaps there are hamsters in places that have been abandoned. Hopefully one day research will be able to be re-established