Mystery Mammal Caught on Film for First Time!

The long-eared jerboa is a desert mouse whose ears, as its name indicates, far outsize its tiny body. Indigenous to the deserts of Mongolia and China, the jerboa is nocturnal and on the endangered species list. Researchers on an expedition in the Gobi desert filmed the little creature recently. Scientists believe this is the first and only instance of the jerboa being captured on film.

The footage showed that the animals spend their daylight hours in underground tunnels and have little hairs on their feet that allow them to hop across the sand, much like a kangaroo. The jerboa is on the verge of extinction, due largely to habitat disturbance and climate change.