THE GOLDEN HAMSTER The golden hamster, whose scientific name is Mesocricetus auratus, is now probably the most popular small pet in the world. This is somewhat surprising considering the fact that it is (compared to rabbits, mice and guinea pig) an animal relatively "new" as it is known in the Western world only since the late 1930s, of course only from after the Second World War in the United States. B harnster gold, unlike other hamsters, was initially described by Waterhouse in 1839, but then seemed to disappear, as if he had become extinct, which some thought had happened. However, Dr. 1. Aharoni, a member of an expedition that was near Aleppo, in the Euphrates River in northern Syria in 1930, managed to capture a female and her 12 puppies in his den, about 2.5 m below ground surface. These animals were sent to Hebrew University of Jerusalem where Aharoni and her daughter made a breeding program that resulted in a good group of individuals after one year. Animals were sent to the UK in 1931 and America in 1938.