At home with the tucos

In Argentina, just north of the lake resort town of Bariloche, lives a colony of subterranean rodents known as the tuco-tucos. One population of these cute and rather cuddly looking creatures, the Ctenomys sociabilis, is unique because it lives in in a social setting rather than in a solitary environment.

Males and females routinely share their elaborate burrow systems, and father tucos participate in the responsibility of raising their pups, a trait found in only 5 percent of mammals.

Tucos feed on mainly on grasses found around the entrances of their burrows.

In their natural habitat, male tucos weigh an average of 350 grams, and their lifespan is generally one year because of predators and exhaustion when competing for mates. Females average 200 grams and live longer – three to four years. Ctenomys sociabilis have one litter per year, giving birth in October or November.

This species of tucos also makes a high-pitched squeaking noise that differs from related rodents.

Multimedia project by Michael McCarter, Niketa Patel, Rebecca Risch & John Russial
Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, March 2005