Persian jird

Persian jird
Persian jird, female, two and a half years old.
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	Meriones
Subgenus:	Parameriones
Species:	M. persicus
Binomial name
Meriones persicus (Blanford, 1875)

The Persian jird (Meriones persicus) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.

The Persian jird is about 6 inches long and has a brush-tipped tail that is slightly longer than the body. They are wild brown with white bellies.

The Persian jird's natural habits are dry rocky hillsides with little vegetation and semi-desert areas. They find shelter in either small burrows or under overhanging rocks. These jirds can also be found living near humans, such as under walls.

In the wild, Persian jirds eat dry plant material and grains, with small insects as a supplement.

Persian jirds usually have two litters a year, each with around seven pups

Some people keep this species as a pet. They can live to be six or seven years old. They need large cages that allow climbing and leaping.

References

• Baillie, J. 1996. Meriones persicus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 July 2007.
• Barker, Julian. (1998-12) The Persian Jird. The Nibbler (Journal of the National Gerbil Society).
• Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.