France: heroic hamsters help biodiversity

Hamsters are helping the environment in France. The small animals are living in fields near Strasbourg. They're part of a new motorway project.

Local people didn't want the motorway. And road builders have to look after the environment. The hamsters are doing this job. European hamsters are good for the environment. People count the number of hamsters. This shows how healthy the local environment is.

Timothée Gérard studies European hamsters.

Timothée Gérard: "We know that if the hamster can reproduce, it will positively impact the insect community, the annelids community, the earthworms. These species also help crops. We expect that where the hamster is doing well, we'll see the crops benefit, with less need for fertilisers, pesticides, etc. and more viable ecosystems for birds, for micromammals, for insects."

In 2020, there were almost no European hamsters. They were on the red list. Motorway builder Vinci Autoroutes wants hamster numbers to go up. Arnaud Guillemin works for Vinci.

Arnaud Guillemin: "As it's a protected species, we have very low populations. The idea of our operation is that the hamsters which we release reproduce - to recreate a new generation and increase the local population."

The motorway goes through fields. The fields have lots of food for hamsters. This made hamsters a good choice.

Scientists planned the introduction of the hamsters. They choose the hamsters for each area carefully. Celia Schappler's on the project.

Celia Schappler: "We will release them in lines, alternating between male and female. We prepare which hamster will go into which burrow, to avoid inbreeding. We never release two hamsters from the same litter on the same plot."

People hope the project will help hamsters.

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