Hamster news of the world

I haven't thought seriously about hamsters since I was a kid. Hamsters don't provoke serious thought while stuffing their cheeks with food; running on their squeaky exercise wheels; and above all, sleeping all day.

Your ordinary pet store hamster, descended from a hamster found in Syria, according to the Lousiana Veterinary Medical Association.

The Court of Justice in Luxembourg has brought serious news about hamsters to the world's attention.  First of all, who, other than hamster fanciers, knew there were native French hamsters? These are not ordinary hamsters. Called the Great Hamster of Alsace, they can grow up to 10 inches long. Very classy-looking critters, their faces are marked with white and reddish-brown and they have striking black bellies, as if they've been running through soot.

The Court of Justice ruled that France has not protected this endangered hamster, of which there are only 800 left alive in the wild. Considering that hamsters breed like mice, that's not many. Also like mice, they're mostly considered as a pest in the farm areas where they munch on grass and hay. Instead of obligingly planting fields with hay or leaving plenty of grassy areas, the farmers have been planting corn, resulting in very hungry hamsters ranging far from home--and getting killed-- in search of food.

Here's a  video of a pet European hamster; she doesn't appear to be fond of meal worms. And here is the place to read the full story.