The Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) is commonly known as the golden hamster, fancy bear hamster, teddy bear hamster, and teddy bear hamster. But they are all Syrians. The Syrian hamster is about 5-7 inches (males bigger than females), and their average lifespan is about 2/3 years. The Syrian hamster originates from Aleppo, in northwestern Syria, and were discovered by George Robert Waterhouse in 1839. They were first captured by Israel Aharoni in 1930.