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The main predators of grey hamsters are
mink and stoats. Other hamsters are killed by foxes, birds of prey, domestic
dogs and cats. Common hamsters have sometimes been trapped by man for their fur
and are considered to be a pest because they dig up root vegetables and eat
other crops. Dogs were used to hunt the
hamsters, following them by sight. The species is thought to be in no
danger of extinction, even though its numbers have been reduced over the years
through modern farming methods.(7)
Until 1930, it was assumed that the golden
hamster was extinct as a species. Then, in 1930, near the ancient town of
Aleppo in Syria, a Jewish archaeologist by the name of Aaron Abrahams, came
across a nest containing a small rodent with twelve
babies that he could not identify. He carefully placed the family into a container and had them taken to the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem. There they were identified as golden hamsters and, under laboratory conditions,
encouraged to
