Newly discovered giant rat can weigh 2 pounds and cracks open coconuts

[ScienceRocks]

Newly discovered giant rat can weigh 2 pounds and crack open coconuts
Science


Michael Irving

5 hours ago
3 pictures

An artist's rendition of the newly discovered species of giant rat, named Uromys vika(Credit: Velizar Simeonovski)

Solomon Islands locals have long spoken about giant rats that scurry around in trees and crack open coconuts, but it was never clear whether such a species actually existed. Now, scientists have found the creatures and confirmed that they are in fact a brand new species.

The new species, dubbed Uromys vika, can weigh up to 1 kg (2.2 lb) and measures about 45.7 cm (1.5 ft) from its nose to the tip of its tail – for reference, an typical adult male brown rat weighs on average 350 g (12 oz), while a typical adult male black rat weighs between 75 and 230 g (2.6 to 8 oz).

Really cool!

 

[ChrisL]

How cute! I honestly don't know why some people are so afraid of rats and mice. I mean, sure don't try to pick one up or pat one or anything, but to scream and/or freak out at the sight of one always made me feel the person was pretty silly. They aren't that much different looking from a squirrel really.

 

[Marion Morrison]

I've seen 10+lb wharf rats with beautiful coats. They'd probably eat that little thing for a snack.

I tell you what, they were bigger and prettier than any jackrabbit.

 

[ChrisL]

I've seen 10+lb wharf rats with beautiful coats. They'd probably eat that little thing for a snack.

I tell you what, they were bigger and prettier than any jackrabbit.

I don't think we have jackrabbits around here. Just the cute little cottontails are all I've seen.

The capybara looks like a big giant rat! I love capybaras! I think they're really cute!

 

[ChrisL]

Actually, capybaras look kind of like giant guinea pigs.

 

[Likkmee]

I've seen 10+lb wharf rats with beautiful coats. They'd probably eat that little thing for a snack.

I tell you what, they were bigger and prettier than any jackrabbit.

 

[gipper]

I've seen 10+lb wharf rats with beautiful coats. They'd probably eat that little thing for a snack.

I tell you what, they were bigger and prettier than any jackrabbit.

Agreed. I worked at a large auto warehouse years ago and we saw many huge rats. Guys brought in stray cats in an effort to control the rat population, to no avail. The rats were bigger and meaner than any cat.

 

[Geaux4it]

A friend of mine who served in Vietnam said the rats were HUGE and they would rise up like bears

-Geaux

 

[shockedcanadian]

We have much bigger rats in Canada, oddly enough they seemed to have taken human form...

 

[shockedcanadian]

How cute! I honestly don't know why some people are so afraid of rats and mice. I mean, sure don't try to pick one up or pat one or anything, but to scream and/or freak out at the sight of one always made me feel the person was pretty silly. They aren't that much different looking from a squirrel really.

I think it's being caught by surprise that freaks people out. Furthermore, we always get that fear they will run up your pant leg or something if they are running near your feet. Mice are just like hamsters, rats have those teeth and that long tail. Nasty little creatures. Though the one in the picture seems quite cute, a much smaller head than some I've seen.

99.9% Of Mother Nature just wants to be left alone and they are more afraid of humans than we could imagine. Even animals at the top of the food chain don't mess with humans except in extraordinary circumstances. Thus, I personally leave them alone unless I set up a feeder as I do for the birds. I don't mind the extra traffic in the backyard over the summer.

 

[Marion Morrison]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

 

[ChrisL]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

There is no such thing as a "wharf rat."

 

[OldLady]

I'm trying to figure out how a 2 pound anything cracks open coconuts. With his little mouth? Little paws?
Or are they tiny coconuts?

 

[OldLady]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

There is no such thing as a "wharf rat."

River rats, probably

 

[ChrisL]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

There is no such thing as a "wharf rat."

River rats, probably

I find it very annoying when people have to come to the animal threads and talk about eating them. Trolling is what it is.

 

[OldLady]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

There is no such thing as a "wharf rat."

River rats, probably

I find it very annoying when people have to come to the animal threads and talk about eating them. Trolling is what it is.

Marion isn't trolling; he hunts. People tell me that's valid.

So, how does a two pound critter break open a coconut?

 

[ChrisL]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

There is no such thing as a "wharf rat."

River rats, probably

I find it very annoying when people have to come to the animal threads and talk about eating them. Trolling is what it is.

Marion isn't trolling; he hunts. People tell me that's valid.

So, how does a two pound critter break open a coconut?

There are appropriate threads to talk about hunting. Most people don't hunt for rats anyhow.

 

[ChrisL]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

There is no such thing as a "wharf rat."

River rats, probably

I find it very annoying when people have to come to the animal threads and talk about eating them. Trolling is what it is.

Marion isn't trolling; he hunts. People tell me that's valid.

So, how does a two pound critter break open a coconut?

Yeah, that seems a little unbelievable. Unless they use tools or roll them off a cliff side or something. I know there is a kind of little monkey that can use stones to break open . . . some kind of nut or something. I can't really remember. I saw it in a documentary once. However, I don't think rats would have that level of intelligence to figure out how to utilize a tool. I've also watched documentaries about some kinds of birds that drop clams and stuff on rocks to break them open.

 

[OldLady]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

There is no such thing as a "wharf rat."

River rats, probably

I find it very annoying when people have to come to the animal threads and talk about eating them. Trolling is what it is.

Marion isn't trolling; he hunts. People tell me that's valid.

So, how does a two pound critter break open a coconut?

Yeah, that seems a little unbelievable. Unless they use tools or roll them off a cliff side or something. I know there is a kind of little monkey that can use stones to break open . . . some kind of nut or something. I can't really remember. I saw it in a documentary once. However, I don't think rats would have that level of intelligence to figure out how to utilize a tool. I've also watched documentaries about some kinds of birds that drop clams and stuff on rocks to break them open.

Seagulls do it all the time. I watch them do it at the beach, when they're not stealing my lunch right off my blanket--right out of my hand once.
Rats DO chew holes in walls, so I guess they might be able to chew into a coconut, given enough time. Hard work being a critter.

 

[Marion Morrison]

That all looks like some good eatins to me.

Wharf rats with pretty coats, notsomuch. I hate to kill one cuz they're pretty.

There is no such thing as a "wharf rat."

Oh, ok. So I didn't see them up in the steel rafters, right?

They're bigger than my cats.