Rodents are the ultimate survivors. Making up around 40% of all mammal species, they’ve adapted to nearly every environment on the planet—from dense forests and deserts to bustling cities. What unites them is a signature feature: a single pair of ever-growing incisors in both the upper and lower jaws, perfect for gnawing through wood, seeds, and even concrete.
This group includes familiar faces like mice, rats, squirrels, and beavers, as well as lesser-known species like capybaras, the world’s largest rodent, and the burrowing tuco-tuco3. Their small size, fast reproduction, and flexible diets make them incredibly resilient. Some, like prairie dogs, live in complex underground colonies, while others, like tree squirrels, help plant forests by forgetting where they buried their nuts.
In this edition of World-Wide Q&A, rodents take the spotlight as nature’s quiet engineers and survivors. Whether they’re shaping ecosystems or adapting to human environments, these tiny mammals prove that success often comes in small, whiskered packages.