24 June 2022

Libyan Jird climbing Shrub - Jubail

One interesting thing I saw whilst watching the Jirds last weekend was one that climbed into a shrub to find food. I saw several feeding on the ground and reaching up to take plant material but only this one that climbed off the ground and into the shrub. It is a diurnal species and forages for seeds, bulbs, tubers, and leaves, as well as any dead insect it may find. It often carries the food back to the burrow and here large quantities are stored in chambers near the surface, deeper burrows being used for nesting. It is opportunistically migratory, moving to new territory when food becomes scarce.