Editing Jerboa (section)

==Behavior==
The bipedal locomotion of jerboas involves hopping, skipping, and running gaits, associated with rapid and frequent, difficult-to-predict changes in speed and direction, facilitating predator evasion relative to quadrupedal locomotion. This may explain why evolution of bipedal locomotion is favored in desert-dwelling rodents that forage in open habitats.<ref name="Moore2017">{{cite journal|last1= Moore|first1=T. Y.|last2= Cooper|first2=K. L.|last3= Biewener|first3=A. A.|last4= Vasudevan|first4= R.|title= Unpredictability of escape trajectory explains predator evasion ability and microhabitat preference of desert rodents|journal= Nature Communications|volume= 8|issue= 1|pages=440|year= 2017|doi= 10.1038/s41467-017-00373-2|pmid=28874728|pmc=5585173|bibcode=2017NatCo...8..440M}}</ref>

Jerboas can hop {{cvt|10|–|13|cm|sigfig=1}} normally but if threatened by a predator the Jerboa can jump up to {{cvt|3|m|sigfig=1}}.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |title=Family Dipodidae Jerboas |work=Mammals of Africa : Rodents, Hares and Rabbits |date=2013 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781472926937.part-0016 |access-date=2024-04-23 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|doi=10.5040/9781472926937.part-0016 |isbn=978-1-4729-2693-7 }}</ref>

Jerboas are most active at twilight ([[Crepuscular animal|crepuscular]]).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Feniuk|first1=B. K.|last2=Kazantzeva|first2=J. M.|title=The Ecology of Dipus sagitta|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=18|issue=4|pages=409|year=1937|doi=10.2307/1374331 |quote=...Dipus sagitta is nocturnal and crepuscular in habits.|jstor=1374331|doi-access=free}}</ref> During the heat of the day, they shelter in burrows. At night, they leave the burrows due to the cooler temperature of their environment. They dig the entrances to their burrow near plant life, especially along field borders. During the [[rainy season]], they make tunnels in mounds or hills to reduce the risk of flooding. In the summer, jerboas occupying holes plug the entrance to keep out hot air and, some researchers speculate, predators.<ref name="Wildlife Encyclopedia" /> In most cases, burrows are constructed with an emergency exit that ends just below the surface or opens at the surface but is not strongly obstructed. This allows the jerboa to quickly escape predators.

Since Jerboas dig in the sand, they have adapted to that environment by developing skin folds and hair that protects their ears and nose from getting sand inside them.<ref name=":1" />

Related jerboas often create four types of burrows. A temporary, summer day burrow is used for cover while hunting during the daylight. They have a second, temporary burrow used for hunting at night. They also have two permanent burrows: one for summer and one for winter. The permanent summer burrow is actively used throughout the summer and the young are raised there. Jerboas hibernate during the winter and use the permanent winter burrow for this. Temporary burrows are shorter in length than permanent burrows. Just like other animals that hibernate, these creatures are heavier pre-hibernation specifically in ungrazed sites (Shuai).   Also, more food availability during pre-hibernation contributes to larger jerboa body mass in ungrazed regions, and entices more jerboas to migrate to ungrazed areas during post-hibernation. Grazing negatively impacts the Jerboa pre- and post-hibernation population, but not the survival rate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000448087300006|title=Web of Science }}</ref><ref name="Wildlife Encyclopedia" /><ref name="ADW" />

Jerboas create burrows to function as protection against predators and severe weather conditions. They will naturally respond to winter conditions such as cold temperatures and food deprivation by digging a winter burrow to hibernate in. Winter burrows are most often longer, deeper and have more entrance holes than summer burrows. Additionally, they use these burrows as nesting areas to raise their young. They can also function as feeding sites.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Ouezzani |first1=S. |last2=Tramu |first2=G. |last3=Magoul |first3=R. |date=2000 |title=The Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurosecretory System of the Jerboa (Jaculus orientalis) and its Seasonal Variants |url=https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=4c345ec9-7670-381e-a6a2-8d2d1570f1d7 |journal=[[Journal of Neuroendocrinology]] |volume=12 |issue=12 |pages=1205–1212|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2826.2000.00581.x |pmid=11106979 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mohammadi |first1=Saeed |last2=Kaboli |first2=Mohammad |last3=Karami |first3=Mahmoud |date=2010 |title=Burrow Systems of Iranian Jerboa |url=https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=7d145241-9136-30c5-b452-b0e2b7a7e966 |journal=Acta Zoológica Mexicana |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=457–463|doi=10.21829/azm.2010.262725 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Jerboas are solitary creatures. Once they reach adulthood, they usually have their own burrow and search for food on their own. However, occasional "loose colonies" may form, whereby some species of jerboa dig communal burrows that offer extra warmth when it is cold outside.<ref name="Wildlife Encyclopedia" />