The biggest rats in the world. The largest rat in the world - contenders for the honorary title What is the largest rat

Despite constant media announcements that huge rats are infesting megacities, in fact, this is not the case. Rather, we are talking about huge newspaper ducks that have indeed overflowed our cities. Remember the recent example with London. And here In Sweden they seem to have caught a giant rat.

But scientists have long found out that within human settlements there are only ordinary varieties of gray rats, whose sizes rarely exceed the standard ones. The photographs are most likely the shooting angle. Here's an example how to do it with TOAD

However, there are also giant rats in the world: a meeting with such a handsome creature is unlikely to go unnoticed. Here is one real example.

Photo 2.

Nikolai Gumilyov has a poem about a rat behind a wardrobe, which terrifies a little girl. A rodent discovered in the jungles of Papua New Guinea may scare not only children, but also domestic cats. Even the bravest ones.

The crater of the Bosavi volcano - at an altitude of about 1000 meters above sea level - was chosen by giant rats. Possibly the largest in the world.

A new species of rat was discovered by a BBC film crew who arrived on the island of Sumatra with completely different goals. Scientists were planning to film a documentary about volcanoes and installed several cameras on the slope of one of them. Infrared equipment detected radiation from a creature of unusual size.

According to indirect evidence, scientists immediately realized that in front of them was an animal from the order of rats - however, they were amazed by its size. The length of the creature exceeded a meter. Naturally, the entire film crew focused on capturing a creature unknown to science.

Photo 3.

Traps placed throughout the island soon brought the long-awaited catch - if you can call it that, a huge rat. The captured creature was truly gigantic in size: with a length of 85 centimeters, it weighed as much as 3 kilograms. In appearance, the rat was no different from ordinary gray rodents that can be found in the city - except that it had thicker and more pleasant-to-touch fur.

Communication with the outside world made it possible to establish that the rat is a local endemic. The creature was not at all afraid of people, and its thick fur helped it survive in the wild. It turned out that local tribes have known this type of rat for a long time and even eat it.

Photo 4.

At the moment, the giant rat has not yet been given a scientific name - scientists call it the “Bosavi woolly rat.” In addition to the rat itself, scientists found several other endemic species near the volcano, which are currently being studied.

In general, during this filming, BBC reporters discovered a lot of other exotic fauna. For example, a fanged frog, a small “unknown animal” that looks like a bear, not to mention all sorts of fish and bats. In total there are about 40 previously unknown species.

Photo 5.

And here is another seemingly real case. In February 2009, a giant rat weighing almost 11 kg was caught in China. The length of its tail is 30 cm, and its teeth are 2.5 cm. The animal was caught in a residential area of ​​the city of Fuzhou on the southern coast of the country. The current owner of the rat is confident that it is of interest to scientists as a rare species.

Most likely, we are talking about a “bamboo rat”. These animals move very slowly and usually spend their lives in underground burrows, feeding on young bamboo. In southern China, bamboo rats are eaten. The largest rats are believed to be found in Africa. Giant pouched rats can reach 1 meter in length.

There are more than 60 species of rats in the world. The largest of these is the Bosavi woolly rat, found in Papua New Guinea, which typically reaches 80 cm.

The front teeth of a rat, which wear out quickly in rodents, grow by 11–14 cm every year.
A rat can stay afloat for three days, go without food for four days and survive after going down the toilet.

Some species can swim up to one mile in open waters.

Rats can fall from a height of 15 meters without breaking, and are capable of performing a one-meter jump in the air from a flat surface.

Once upon a time, rats could even be larger than cows, says geologist Dr Jan Zalasiewicz from the University of Leicester. He says: "Given enough time, rats can in all likelihood grow to at least the size of a capybara, the world's largest living rodent, which can weigh up to 80kg."

They prefer to live away from humans, while others settle in close proximity. Hundreds of cases of rat attacks on small children and adults are recorded annually. People are afraid of encountering pests and wonder how much the largest rat in the world weighs.

Justified and unfounded fears

In the last century, Moscow newspapers published an article about giant species of rats that live in the outback of the local metro. They began to crawl to the surface and attack people. The giant rats were similar in size to dogs, had red eyes, yellow plaque on their teeth, and a terrible grin. Large monsters with a terrifying appearance.

With the development of the global Internet, horror stories about rodents increasingly began to appear on the pages of websites. The Chinese presented a photo of the largest rat in the world, holding the huge monster by the tail. The weight of the animal reached several kilograms.

Thanks to such horror stories, people began to have justified and unfounded fears. No one wants to meet a hungry monster with a terrible look on their way. How big can a rat grow? Is there any reason to worry?

Natural sizes of rodents

A person is periodically bothered by 2 types of rats – gray, black. These representatives of the mouse genus are found in sewer hatches, underground, basements, cellars, near garbage cans, and in abandoned buildings.

With the approach of cold weather, with a lack of food, and with a significant increase in the population, they gain impudence and visit humans. This type of large pest can be seen in the barn, outbuildings, chicken coop, gardens, vegetable gardens, and in your own home. In some cases .

The length of the animal reaches 25 cm excluding the tail. may be commensurate with the length of her body. The natural size of the animal is impressive and raises the question – is this really not the limit? In its natural environment, a rat never grows to the size of a cat, let alone a dog. The weight of an adult individual is only 400 g. The largest individual of this species weighs 500 g. It is also known what sizes rats are in laboratory conditions.

No one was specifically involved in breeding large species of giant rats. Animals are of no value to humans; they are not eaten. Therefore, there is no point in breeding a breed the size of a wild boar. Artificially created breeds of white rats reach 500 g in weight, and do not differ much in length. The large size of a pet is more related to constant access to food - overfed.

On a note!

Rats and cockroaches are able to live in conditions of increased radiation. Where other creatures die, these representatives of the fauna adapt to new conditions and mutate. Radiation affects natural processes in the body and provokes growth. In the exclusion zone, plants of unrealistic sizes, giant vegetables, fruits, cockroaches, and rats were seen. No special studies have been carried out to see how capable a rodent can grow under such conditions. But a significant increase in dimensions is allowed.

The maximum size of a gray rat is about 25 cm in length excluding the tail, a black rat is up to 22 cm. A white rat can grow up to 30 cm - this is its limit. Maximum weight for – 400 g, for – 300 g.

There are larger specimens in the world. They are found in countries with a warm tropical climate, do not harm people, and even bring benefits.

Large sizes by world standards

The name of the big rat has long been known - the Bosavi woolly rat. The length of the rat from the location of the nose to the base of the tail is 82 cm. The animal weighs about 1.5 kg. resembles an urban gray individual, even the “expression” of the muzzle is identical. The coat is short, gray in color.

Large rodent-type animals were discovered in the extinct Bosavi Crater in Papua New Guinea. The animal is peaceful and does not show aggression. Doesn't run away at the sight of a person, lets himself be petted. It does not leave its usual habitat, so no harm can be expected from it.

Giant Bosavi rats do not live in other countries. Their appearance in society may be associated with forced relocation. The rodent will not walk around the city and scare people with its large parameters, since it will be placed in a nature reserve and will be supervised.

Other types of huge rodents

The external similarity of rodents in a person without certain knowledge causes the formation of an incorrect opinion. They showed an animal that looked like a rat in a photo on the Internet, captioned it “the biggest rat,” and created a sensation. While large animals, similar to the local gray pest, have nothing in common with it, except for being classified as one species.

Nezomyidae

A large rat living in Africa. It is also called the Gambian, a giant marsupial. The animal reaches a size of 90 cm in length and weighs about 1.5 kg.

He gained his popularity among people thanks to his keen sense of smell. The special size of rats in African countries does not surprise anyone. The rodent is trained and used to search for mines. The results of the work are superior in efficiency to the work of trained dogs. Training is much cheaper and goes faster.

Interesting!

The animals got their name “marsupials” because of their large cheeks. They hide reserves of grain in their mouths and carry them with them into the hole. Rodents do not have pouches for carrying babies, like kangaroos.

Reed

The large rat is a representative of the African fauna. Loves warmth; in other countries it lives in artificially created conditions. The giant rat weighs 9 kg, body length is about 61 cm, and its ears are practically invisible. Smooth long fur, blunt nose. There is little resemblance to an ordinary sewer rat. Out of ignorance, one can assume that the animal mutated this way due to radiation or chemistry.

Bamboo rat

At one time, one representative of this family became the main character of the yellow press. “There are huge rats in China!” the headlines said. In the photo, bamboo rats were displayed for public viewing, which have nothing in common with the gray familiar pest. Animals are found in China and Southeast Asian countries. They reach a length of 50 cm. Weight is about 4 kg.

They like to periodically inform society about the giant rat and create a sensation. For our people, a large animal familiar to Africans or Chinese can easily pass for a monster. If they are found in those countries, they may appear here too. Scientists assure us that there is no cause for concern. The size of the ordinary gray pasuk, like other species of the mouse genus, is determined by genetics.

External resemblance to other animals

An animal similar to a rat is found in our area. You can easily take a photo and post a sensation on the Internet.

Capybara

The largest rodent in the whole world. Outwardly it resembles a mixture of a boar, a dog, and a rat. When meeting such a creature, it is not difficult to get scared for life. Behind the unusual appearance of a large rodent lies a calm, peaceful character. You can come close to him and pet him without any problems. The body length of an adult reaches 1.35 m, the animal weighs about 65 kg. There are cases when the weight of this type of rodent was recorded at 91 kg.

Beaver

An animal familiar to the local population. Belongs to the rodent family. It resembles a rat with its muzzle and body shape. The tail is wide and flattened. The body length of an adult beaver reaches 50 cm. The rodent weighs about 32 kg. It ranks second in the ranking of “the largest rats in the world.”

Interesting!

A large beaver with a body length of up to 2.5 m and a weight of 350 kg was spotted in North America. Genetics does not provide for such changes in species. How old the rodent was and what caused this change remained a mystery.

Nutria

Rodents are bred for their beautiful golden fur. They sew winter outerwear, hats, and accessories. The muzzle looks like a rat, especially the teeth. Body length is about 60 cm, weight – 12 kg. Found in the wild. If you're frightened, you might mistake him for a big bastard.

Marmot-bayrak

An interesting creature that lives in the fields. In autumn it hibernates and is not visible in winter. The length of an adult is 70 cm. By the end of summer, the weight of the animal approaches 10 kg. Marmots prefer to live away from humans and quickly hide in holes when they see danger.

Unfavorable environmental conditions, an abundance of chemicals, genetically modified products, and increased levels of radiation affect the health of living beings and cause mutations. It is possible to assume that a rat is capable of growing to the large size of a dog, but such cases have not been recorded. There are no giant monsters around.

The rat is an animal with which many superstitions, myths and prejudices are associated. In the Middle Ages, these animals were considered messengers and accomplices of the devil, and modern humanity for the most part fears them, considering them not only carriers of infection (which has long been scientifically proven), but also aggressive, vile and insidious creatures. Although many people who have an ordinary one as a pet are convinced that these animals are affectionate, intelligent and loyal. Unlike most rodents, they are very clean and, on their own initiative, choose places for the “toilet”, without leaving traces of their vital activity throughout the apartment.

However, even those who are hostile to these rodents are curious about what the largest rat in the world is and where it lives. Probably, at least in order to breathe a sigh of relief, counting the kilometers that separate her from her home.

"Apple of Discord": Capybara

Most people believe that the largest rat in the world is the capybara, which lives in South and Central America. On the one hand, they are right in some ways: the capybara reaches half a meter in height, a meter in length, and fifty kilograms in weight. However, it would be more correct to say that the capybara is the largest rodent, not a rat. The structure of its body and muzzle is very different from all known species of rats. Moreover, she does not have a tail from birth, her claws are hoof-shaped, and her diet is exclusively plant-based, while most rats are omnivores. So, from a scientific point of view, it is incorrect to consider the capybara a rat.

Contenders for victory

Until recently, it was believed that the largest rat in the world was the Sumatran bamboo rat. Its length, including the tail, in some cases reached seventy-five centimeters. Some individuals weighed as much as four kilograms. However, this record has now been broken.

The unproven winner for some time was considered the “prey” of the Chinese from Fuzhou. Right in the city, he managed to catch a specimen whose tail alone reached a third of a meter - and in rats it is thirty percent shorter than the body. The scales showed that the beast had weighed eleven kilos; and the animal’s incisors grew by 2.5 centimeters. However, apart from the photograph, the “hunter” could not provide anything else as proof, so the existence of this monster remained in question.

The biggest rat in the world

A giant species of these rodents is found in New Guinea, Papua. They were discovered by scientists conducting observations in a completely different field of science. It is noteworthy that it was not an individual mutant that was found, but an entire population that chose the extinct Bosavi volcano as its place of settlement. These rats are inferior in weight to the largest individuals from Sumatra, but surpass them in length - the average “height” of the giants is about 80 centimeters, and the maximum that was measured is a meter and 20 centimeters. Otherwise, the animals look like a barn gray rat, and their habits and habits are similar.

Extinct winner

Not long ago, scientists found that the largest rat in the world ceased to exist a thousand or two years ago. Excavations in southeast Asia, on the island of Timor, amazed archaeologists: they found skeletons of rats that weighed about six kilograms during life. Presumably, they reached a length of one and a half meters or more. Thus, it was the largest rat in the world both in weight and size - in contrast to modern representatives of the genus, which divided the laurels between the two species. Scientists believe that the cause of the extinction of the giants was human activity, accompanied by active hunting for rodents that were used as food.

Russian record holders

The expanses of the country are not distinguished by a particular diversity of rat species. The largest rat in Russia is the large gray rat, also known as the barn rat, or pasyuk. It reaches a length of forty centimeters, although most specimens are much smaller. The average weight is about 170 grams, although individual individuals can gain up to four hundred.

However, the Russian record holder can be considered an Indonesian rat, which has become well accustomed to the Moscow metro. The average weight of this variety is three hundred grams; There are also specimens weighing half a kilo. Their body length is about 50 centimeters (with a tail, of course); individual representatives were registered, growing to 65. Of course, the question of where the Indonesian rats came from in the subway remained unclear, but there is still no need to worry about mutants.

• Which rat is officially recognized as the largest in the world and what it looks like;
• How big can city rats grow and are there any huge monsters among them?
• Do giant mutant sewer rats exist and can they attack humans?
• How big can domestic rats (decorative) be and what is useful to know about those representatives that weigh about half a kilogram;
• Which animals are sometimes mistaken for giant rats...

Stories about giant mutant rats confidently take first place in popularity among urban horror legends, and various works of art actively exploit such images. Indeed, the reader may be tickled by the mere thought that somewhere in the sewer huge rats with red eyes and yellow teeth are wandering, always hungry, cunning, capable of sooner or later getting out of their sewer abode and going in search of a victim.

And when the same person finds out that the largest rat in the world can be compared in size to a dog, he becomes even stronger in his fears.

Indeed, the largest rat known to science could easily pass for a monster straight out of the pages of a third-rate horror story. But... only externally. The fact is that such giants of the rat world do not pose a real danger to humans, because their character is completely peaceful.

Which rat is officially considered the largest in the world?

The photo below shows the largest rat in the world:

It is called the Bosavi woolly rat, although this name is temporary and not currently approved as a scientific name.

The animal in the photograph (it would be hard to call it an animal) has a body length from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail of 82 cm and weighs about 1.5 kg. Outwardly, this is a typical rat, even the color of its fur and the “expression” of its muzzle are the same as those of its relatives from city basements. And yet, in terms of size and weight, the Bosavi woolly rat is at least three times larger than its largest urban counterparts.

Bosavi rats are not at all aggressive towards humans and are not afraid of them: you can pet a wild animal, the rat will not run away and will not try to bite. At least no zoologist was harmed while examining, weighing and measuring these rodents in their natural habitat. This calm attitude towards humans is due to the remoteness of the woolly rat’s habitat: so far, representatives of the species have been found only in the crater of the Bosavi volcano in Papua New Guinea, completely cut off from civilization, long extinct and overgrown with tropical forest. Without meeting people here, rats do not know that they should be feared.

On a note

At the end of the article you can watch a video from the BBC expedition during which these giant rodents were discovered. It shows that the wild rat, surrounded by zoologists, is not worried at all, does not show aggression towards people and goes about its normal business.

By the way, the same gullibility is characteristic of other inhabitants of the Bosavi crater. For example, for a new species of tree kangaroo, discovered here. This animal also calmly allows itself to be stroked.

Today, there are no known finds of Bosavi rats in any other places in the world, and most likely, except for the deserted volcano crater in Papua New Guinea, they are not found anywhere else in the world. You definitely won’t be able to meet such an animal in a trash heap somewhere in Russia or Europe. Here, only gray or black rats, indispensable companions of our civilization, can catch your eye.

How big are sewer rats and are there giant mutants among them?

In Russia, two types of rats live next to people, in attics, basements and in the sewers of their houses - gray (pasyuk) and black. They look alike, but the gray one is larger: The body length of adult individuals of this species can reach 25 cm (excluding the length of the tail), and the weight is 400 grams. However, gray rats usually do not grow even to the size of a cat.

The photo below shows a gray rat:

And here it is black:

Black rats are smaller than gray ones: the largest individuals of this species reach a length of 22 cm from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, and their weight rarely reaches 300 grams.

Pasyuk, the larger one, is exactly that sewer rat that willingly inhabits sewers, damp basements and basement floors. The black rat prefers to live in dry rooms and attics. Other types of rats have never been discovered in the Russian urban jungle, and stories that huge rats the size of dogs live in the Moscow metro are so far just unconfirmed rumors (however, we’ll talk about huge “mutant rats” a little lower ).

And in general, the biggest rat in Russia is still the same pasyuk. The fact is that all representatives of the rat genus are heat-loving; in temperate or cold climates they can only live next to humans. In the wild in the south of our country, only black rats live, which are inferior in size to gray ones, and larger species are known only from tropical regions. That is, even in the Siberian wilderness or in the endless steppes of southern Russia, huge rats are not found.

More about huge mutant rats

Yet stories of giant mutant rats in the Moscow metro or abandoned military bunkers remain surprisingly enduring. Their phenomenon is easy to explain: people do not want to put up with the dullness of their everyday lives and are willing to believe in almost any unusual and inexplicable phenomena, even frightening ones. After all, these “horror stories” give hope that the world around is not as ordinary and dull as it seems most of the time, and there is certainly a place in it for some mysteries - including mutant rats.

Simply put, people want to believe in the existence of monster rats, and science fiction writers, horror film directors, and rumor mongers simply exploit these fears to their advantage. As a result, more and more new versions of “facts” and “eyewitness accounts” constantly appear, and the old ones are repeatedly altered and turned into more and more new versions, sometimes completely different from the originals.

For example, the stories allegedly told by Moscow metro drivers are very well known. According to them, in the farthest sections of the tunnels, the headlights of trains occasionally reveal huge rats the size of dogs crossing the tracks. Most of these stories are full of chilling details: in that brief moment that a ray of light snatches a rat from the darkness of the tunnel, the animal manages to look at the driver with evil green (in other versions - red) eyes, and then suddenly news appears that these animals no poison works. It is unknown which of the drivers tried to poison these mutants (just as the names of those who actually saw these animals are not known), but most storytellers consider it their duty to mention such immunity.

Also popular is an allegedly real story that happened to a group of Moscow diggers (specialists involved in the study of caves and artificial underground tunnels). In a sewer under the zoo, this team was attacked by five large rats the size of a dog, and the guys were saved only by throwing their crowbars at the animals and in this way scared them away.

This story was continued. They say that an anonymous person later called the diggers club and said that there were a lot of large rats in secret bunkers for storing radioactive waste. It is well known that the more secrecy and conspiracy theories there are in a story, the more popularity it will have...

There are also stories circulating among people about giant rats climbing out of manholes near landfills and scattering dogs there. Moreover, these stories are unusually tenacious: the first reports of such rats appeared back in 1989, and after that their number has only increased.

It is interesting to note that the less believable each particular story is, the more easily it spreads among the people. It is the details that seem fantastic that make such tales “hot”: either huge rats create the most complex organizations with commanders, pioneers and suicide bombers, or they deliberately feed on poisons or winding wires - there are countless such details.

Someone is even trying to mix together rumors about mutant rats and news about the discovery of Bosavi woolly rats. The result is a mix unimaginable for a specialist that, they say, scientists have discovered a new species of giant rats - Indonesian - in the Moscow subway. Why Indonesian? Simply because the name is simpler than “Bosavi woolly rat” or “Papua New Guinea rat.”

We will not waste time refuting such speculation, but will only say that none of these rumors have factual confirmation.

Pet rats weighing half a kilogram are a reality

Just like basement rats, decorative pet rats usually do not grow to the size of cats and dogs. The fact is that such indoor pets are ordinary gray rats, in which, through long selection, it was possible to achieve beautiful coloring or fix albinism in the genotype.

But breeders did not work on increasing the size of domesticated rats - there was simply no particular need for this. After all, rats are not cattle, no one raises them for meat, and therefore no one needs to breed giants out of them, following the example of huge rabbits or cows.

As a result, rats in captivity grow to approximately the same size as in a basement or in the wild. But we must admit: in cages, in conditions of lack of physical activity and abundance of food, many of them eat up and become fat. As a result, individual pets sometimes reach a weight of 500 grams or even more.

However, there is no reason to say that they are giants (in terms of genes). Their maximum size is the same as that of their semi-wild relatives, but their weight is just a gain. These are just “fat people”, the same as individual representatives of the human race, weighing 300-350 kg and not at all “giants”.

Therefore, remember: both white rats and the original “huskies” or hairless rodents in adulthood are approximately the same in size, and are not very large. You won’t be able to find and buy somewhere a huge rat weighing a kilogram.

The photo shows a large male white laboratory rat:

And, by the way, pest rats in the basement or in the chicken coop have normal sizes for their species, and conventional means are used to combat them. A rat trap for them is a crusher of standard “rat” dimensions, or a live trap designed specifically for rats. Even if a very large specimen is caught in the trap, its reserve size is sufficient to kill or hold prey.

Other large rat species

In general, the Bosavi woolly rat is the largest among the true rats of the genus Rattus and has practically no competitors. Animals of similar sizes and similar to rats are not actually rats, and receive the corresponding names only due to their external resemblance.

For example, the so-called nezomyids, a family of rodents common in Africa, are similar to rats. Among them there is the Gambian marsupial rat (also known as a giant marsupial). The body length of individual representatives of this species can reach up to 90 cm, but due to their slenderness and mobility they weigh a maximum of 1.2-1.4 kg.

The giant marsupial rat is shown in the photo below:

This species is known, first of all, not for its size, but for its service to humans - thanks to its keen sense of smell, Gambian marsupial rats are used to find and neutralize mines. Preparing and training one such “specialist animal” is several times cheaper than training a sapper dog, with the same efficiency.

This is interesting

African marsupial rats got their name from their voluminous cheek pouches. They carry food in these bags, just like hamsters do. These rats are not true marsupials and do not have pouches for bearing offspring.

Other examples of large rats that are not true rats are:

• Large cane rat. This animal also lives in Africa, has a very dense build, reaches a length of 61 cm, and some adult males can weigh up to 9 kg. In the photograph below you can estimate the size of a representative of this species:
• A large bamboo rat, the hero of online news that “a giant rat has been caught in China.” It lives in Southeast Asia, including China, reaching a length of 50 cm and a weight of 4 kg. The photo below is an illustration of a typical “yellow” news:

However, in reality, these animals have only a name from rats. They are related to real rats, members of the genus Rattus, to the same extent as baboons are related to humans.

Comparing representatives of these species with pasyuki is as incorrect as, for example, nutria - the latter are also very large, belong to the rodent family and resemble rats in appearance. But it doesn’t occur to anyone to spread the news on the Internet that, they say, a giant mutant rat was caught in Azerbaijan, and confirm it with a photograph of a farmer with nutria obtained at his headquarters.

But since we are talking about large relatives of rats, it would be fair to mention the largest rodents in the world. Moreover, to one degree or another, these animals really look like gray basement pests...

It would be a stretch to call almost any rodent a rat. Moreover, the structural features of most representatives of this family are similar, and something “rat-like” can be discerned in the appearance of all of them. Therefore, animals that look like a large rat can belong to a variety of species.

For example:

1. The capybara is the largest rodent in the world. At first glance, it can be mistaken for some kind of cross between a rat, a dog and a boar. The body length of an adult capybara can reach 1.35 m, height at the withers - 60 cm, and weight - 65 kg (in some individuals - up to 91 kg). Look at the photo and tell me what is “rat” in the appearance of this creature:
   
2. The beaver is the second largest and largest rodent in the world, weighing up to 32 kg;
   
3. Nutria, reaching a length of 60 cm and a weight of 12 kg. This animal especially resembles a large rat with its gold-colored teeth;
   
4. The marmot reaches a length of 70 cm and by the end of summer, before hibernation, fattens up to 10 kg.

Interestingly, in the Pleistocene, the giant beaver Castoroides ohioensis lived in North America, whose body length reached 2.75 m and weight 350 kg. The largest extinct rodent, Josephoartigasia monesi, supposedly weighed up to 1.5 tons.

It is also believed that some carnivorous mammals resemble large rats, although they have a bushy tail. This similarity is often used in questions for various intellectual games, referring to mongooses. In fact, it is possible to find common external features in mongooses and rats, but it is almost impossible to confuse these animals with each other.

Mongoose photo:

Agree, it would be strange to mistake him for a rat...

Giant Afghan and Pakistani rats are also a legend...

And another legend, very famous in the past, but today somewhat forgotten, is associated with supposedly large rats from Afghanistan. The essence of the story is this: in the 1980-1990s, in the era of shuttles and the fashion for exotics, smooth-haired dachshunds became very popular in Russia. And allegedly, for some owners, these dogs behaved completely out of character for the breed.

After examination by veterinarians or dog handlers, it turned out that sometimes special, very large Afghan and Pakistani rats were sold to wealthy buyers under the guise of dachshunds. They say that these rodents had large ears and were exactly the size of a small dog. But the main intrigue of these tales was that such pets had an unpredictable character and could unexpectedly attack their own owners.

In reality, this story is nothing more than an urban myth. The same rats live in Afghanistan and Pakistan as in Russia, and science does not know of such a rodent that can be confused with a dog.

Perhaps the main conclusion that can be drawn from our entire story is that you shouldn’t be afraid of some huge mutant rats. Those rodents that can be found near human habitation usually do not reach large sizes. They certainly will not attack the person himself with the aim of biting or snatching a piece of his flesh.

Yes, rats sometimes bite people, but they do this very rarely, mostly in self-defense. Indeed, large rats are rare and very peaceful; seeing them is a real success for a zoologist and an almost impossible task for an ordinary city dweller. Therefore, we can sleep peacefully, giant rats from the sewer do not threaten us.

Interesting video: a cat versus a huge rat - who will win?..

Hunting for giant rats in Africa

There are many large representatives of rats among ornamental species. They quickly become pets and become attached to their owner. But people should be wary of giant wild rats.

Large domestic rats

Rats can be called one of the most popular pets. Decorative rats differ from their wild counterparts; they quickly become attached to their owner, are very intelligent and careful. Keeping a rat is much easier than, for example, a dog. However, many experience hostility and even disgust towards them.

Among domesticated rats, the most common species is the brown rat. The weight of one such individual varies from four hundred to six hundred grams. There are specimens weighing nine hundred grams. Males are usually larger than females. The length of brown rats is from sixteen to twenty-seven centimeters. Unfortunately, the lifespan of a rat is about two years. In rare cases, a rat can live for three years. Each owner of a decorative rat quickly becomes attached to it, so the loss of a “friend” after just two or three years greatly upsets all lovers of these pets.

A massive decorative rat is a specimen of the “Standard” breed. Their long body reaches a size of twenty to thirty centimeters. In addition, they have a long tail, reaching up to twenty centimeters. The weight of the male is about half a kilogram.

Decorative gray rats also have a rather large size. Their length varies from seventeen to forty centimeters, in addition, the tail is about twenty centimeters long. The maximum weight does not exceed five hundred grams.

The decorative black rat is also a common inhabitant of apartments as a pet. Their length reaches twenty-two centimeters, in addition, this species has a very long scaly tail, which is much longer than the body itself. The length of the tail is about twenty-eight centimeters.

Where do the biggest wild rats live?

Pasyuk is the name given to wild predatory rats. This is a large animal, about twenty-seven centimeters long. They are distributed everywhere, live in burrows and are very aggressive. Such rats fearlessly attack not only dogs or cats, but also humans.

The wild Turkestan rat inhabits the foothills of Uzbekistan, South-Eastern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, where it lives in fruit and nut forests. The body length of these animals is approximately twenty-three centimeters. They also get along well with people, settling in urban and rural buildings.

One of the largest representatives of the family is the bamboo rat. The body reaches a length of forty-eight centimeters plus a relatively short tail fifteen centimeters long. Their habitat is the island of Sumatra, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, Burma and Thailand. It is known that in China this animal is eaten. The bamboo rat is quite slow and spends most of its life in an underground burrow. The main food of this species is young bamboo.

The biggest rat in Moscow

As you know, the largest rat in the fauna of Russia is the gray rat. The body of the animal can reach forty centimeters, the length of its tail is slightly less than twenty centimeters. In Moscow, in the metro, you can meet giant representatives of the “Indonesian” rat species that have bred there.

According to eyewitnesses, its length is about one meter. There is a lot of information that giant mutant rats live under the capital, their size due to the increased level of radiation underground. This is all fiction, unlike the existence of “Indonesian” rats underground. They were seen more than once by train drivers, and Moscow residents observed these individuals when they appeared on the surface near landfills. Even dogs are afraid of these animals.

Data from Rospotrebnadzor indicate that the number of rats living in Moscow is forty times greater than the number of residents of the metropolis. They have proliferated especially strongly in recent decades. According to biologists, these rats can, in a sense, be called intellectual mutants.

The largest rat in the world

How much a rat can grow is not known for certain. British scientists discovered an individual with a total length of slightly less than a meter. She was found in a volcano on the island of Papua. Most likely, such sizes are a merit of favorable conditions for the growth of the animal. The rat found is a species identical to the most common barn rat. The only difference between them is the size.

In China, a local resident of the city of Fuzhou managed to catch a giant rat in one of the residential areas. Its weight was eleven kilograms, and its tail length was thirty centimeters. The length of this record holder’s teeth reached two and a half centimeters.

It is known that the Sumatran bamboo rat often reaches a length of seventy-five centimeters including the tail. The giant's weight is about four kilograms. Floves Island is home to a species of huge rats. Their body is about forty-five centimeters, and the length of the tail reaches seventy-five centimeters. Fortunately, this animal, whose total length is at least one meter and twenty centimeters, feeds exclusively on plant foods.

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