As a Friday treat, I here present a small assemblage of text, images, and videos pertaining to one of the most frighteningly fantastic creatures on this earth. I was first introduced to the naked mole rat in Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, Errol Morris's superb documentary that's a portrait of four eccentric men and their professions - a lion trainer, a robot scientist, a topiary sculptor, and an expert on this great animal. I must revisit and write about this film - hilarious, hideous and deeply thought provoking, it's also an example of how revolutionary associative editing can be, subtly allowing the viewer to pull together these individual stories to create a gestalt that speaks to man's desire to assert control over the world.
So then, the naked mole rat is unique in that it's a mammal that's eusocial, with an organisational structure similar to ants and bees. Naked mole rats live in colonies of around 70 in number. The workers at the bottom of the chain dig tunnels, others collect food, and a select harem tend to the queen. The naked mole rat is the longest living rodent (up to 28 years). It feeds only on tubers and its own faeces. What I personally find so fascinating about the naked mole rat (aside from the transcendent ugliness) is their machine like intelligence, the rigorous work ethic that ensures the safety of each colony, and just how adaptable the mole rat is to its surroundings. A mole rat is instilled to think of themselves as part of a larger organism, and will always sacrifice him or herself in service of the rest of the colony. The National Geographic website describes the naked mole rat as looking like a 'bratwurst with teeth', but come on, this is really the male vagina dentata!
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