Earlier, I was thinking to myself: "How many hamsters would I need to buy in order to be able to create a self sustaining population in the UK countryside should I release them into the wild?"
Yes, I realise that was an unusual thought process, but it is still a thought I would like to extend into this blog. My initial thought was 5 males and 5 females. However, I then realised 2 things. 1) That this does not seem nearly enough hamsters, taking into account hunting from other species and what not, and 2) hamsters have a harem based breeding system, with one male mating with multiple females. This means I would only need 1 male for every 5 females or so. This has led me to the estimate of 3 males and 15 females released into the wild countryside of Farnborough. This would be expensive, assuming £5 per hamster, totaling a minimum spend of £90.
Another issue I have with the initial thought is where in Farnborough would I release them. A hamster's natural environment is the desert, something distinctly lacking in North-East Hampshire. I thought initially I'd leave them on a local playing field surrounded by a small area of scrubland. This seems like the type of place that would have many small nuts and berries that the hamsters could eat.
Obviously, this is purely hypothetical and I'm not actually going to release 18 hamsters onto a field. That would be silly. Also as a newly impoverished student, there's no way I can afford the £90 start up fee.
No comments:
Post a Comment