Image of a rare blind mole rat in Australia

This is a strange-looking animal that people usually only encounter 5-10 times per decade .

Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa , an indigenous ranger organization in Australia, recently discovered and photographed a rare species of blind mole rat that scientists know very little about.

This marsupial mole was discovered in Martu Country, an area in the northern part of Western Australia. This is the land of the Martu people - a group of many Australian aboriginal peoples.

Images of blind mole rats are rarely seen. (Photo: Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa/X)

The rangers there suddenly encountered the blind mole rat and this was the second time in just 6 months they encountered this animal. Normally, blind mole rats are only seen five to 10 times per decade.

The blind mole rat, also known as Kakarrrarturl, is an animal with pouches and underdeveloped eyes. The whole body has smooth hair and long claws protruding from the front feet to facilitate digging in the ground to find insects and worms.

The northern blind mole is only about 10 cm long and its close relative the southern marsupial mole is slightly longer, about 18 cm.

In an article published in Australian Geographic, Joe Benshemesh, an expert and researcher on marsupial moles at the National Malleefowl Recovery Group, said they have evolved to withstand the harsh temperatures of the desert.

Explaining why this animal rarely appears, expert Benshemesh said that blind mole rats spend most of their time underground, only occasionally coming up for short periods of time.

Also according to Mr. Benshemesh, because they weigh only 40-60 grams, blind marsupial mole rats do not need much oxygen. They just need to breathe the air flowing between the sand grains.

There are still many unknowns about this creature, so researchers are excited when they appear.

Previously, the last time people saw marsupial moles was in 2023, near the Uluru area in Central Australia.