In the forests of Papua New Guinea, a representative of a new species of huge rats, unknown to scientists, was found. According to the BBC, the found rat has a body length from nose to tail of 82 cm
Specialists filming the program for the BBC discovered it during a team expedition to the area of Mount Bosavi, which is located in the southern mountainous part of the country and is an extinct volcano. Scientists initially noticed a rat never seen before when they looked at footage recorded by a camera with an infrared port.
Seeing how impressive a rat swarming in the grass is, the Air Force immediately decided to investigate the animal to determine its species. With the help of a special trap, the members of the expedition managed to catch a huge rat weighing one and a half kilograms. A representative of the new species was found at a height of one thousand meters.
The rat has a thick layer of silvery fur, which scientists say helps it survive the humid and cold climate that prevails on the mountaintops. Scientists believe that this type of rat, previously named "Bosavi", lives only in the area of Mount Bosavi.
The beast is absolutely not afraid of people
Recall that in February 2009, a giant rat weighing almost 11 kg was caught in China. The length of her tail is 30 cm, and her teeth are 2.5 cm. The animal was caught in a residential area of Fuzhou on the southern coast of the country. The current owner of the rat is sure that it is of interest to scientists as a rare species.
Most likely, we are talking about the "bamboo rat". These animals move very slowly and usually live in underground burrows, feeding on young bamboo. In southern China, bamboo rats are eaten. It is believed that the largest rats are found in Africa. Giant marsupial rats are capable of reaching 1 meter in length.