A little History about Syrian Hamster

When you are handling these little creatures, have you ever wonder where and how these little critters came about? Syrian hamsters? You are probably right. Syrian hamsters or Golden hamsters or teddy bear suggest that they originate from Syria, a hot and dry area.  They live in deep burrows and wake up when night falls to search for food. Syrian hamsters are classified as Cricetus auratus initially under the animal kingdom but later changed to Mesocricetus auratus.

1797 – The first recording of the Syrian hamsters appeared in the second edition of The Natural History of Aleppo. Although Alexander Russell published the first edition in 1797, it is unsure if he or his brother, Patrick, published the second edition after the death of Alexander and discovered the Syrian hamster. However, the Syrian hamster was not recorded as a new species at that time, so it may be speculated it was already known or mistaken for other known hamsters.

1839 – The naming and classification is not by Alexander nor Patrick but done by British zoologist George Robert Waterhouse, curator of the London Zoological Society. Upon returning from Syria, he presented the skull and skin of the hamster at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London. The remains are still up at the Natural History Museum, London, UK.

1930-1931 – In 1930 On April 12, Israel Aharoni, a zoologist and professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, captured a mother hamster and her litter of pups near Mount Aleppo, Syria. Reports on how many escaped, survived and recaptured were unclear and varied. Aharoni found a female Syrian hamster and 11 young. The hamsters were brought back and bred in Jerusalem as laboratory animals. When placed in a colony box, the mother actually cannibalised one of the litter. Aharoni worried the mother will do the same to the other litters and put the mother to sleep by using cyanide. The surviving 10 babies whose eyes yet to open were hand reared by Aharoni and his wife. However they escaped only 9 were recaptured. When brought to Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 5 more escaped through a hole in the cage. In 1931, the remaining were bred successfully in laboratory were dispatched to various countries including Britain.

1937 – Hamsters grew out of laboratories, sold commercially are kept as pets.

1945-1949 – By then so many people are keeping and breeding hamsters that a club was formed. Within a few years, 1949, National Hamster Council was formed and exist even till today.

1971 It is reported that American Michael R. Murphy obtained a litter of twelve again in Aleppo. They were taken back to the USA; Murphy records that the hamsters became hand-tame and gentle after three days of handling and were bred successfully. This may account for the various mutations appearing in US and Europe over the years.

So now you have an idea where these cute little critters came about. However I do not have info when Syrian hamsters came about in Singapore. Please feel free to drop an email to theonepet@gmail.com if you have any info! Thank you!