Rats are among the largest representatives of rodents. And the larger they are, the more negative feelings can cause fear and disgust. However, the largest rat in the world, found in nature, is completely harmless to humans and quite peaceful.

Sizes of giant rats

The most common type of rodent in the world is gray rats or pasyuki. You can see what they look like on numerous photos rats on the Internet and books. scary: the maximum size of a rat can reach up to 25 cm, they live in nature in burrows reaching 5 m in length and 1 m in depth, and are capable of attacking animals and people. dangerous for humans. It is this type of rat that they like to portray as giant mutants in horror films in order to tickle the audience’s nerves. Aggressive little birds running around in city sewers are always present in horror stories, legends and stories of local residents.

Interesting!

The same species is widely represented in the stories of people who visited Chernobyl zone. Some “eyewitnesses” talk about such a giant rat weighing 18 kilograms, enlarged by radiation.

Standard - rats, which became the progenitors of decorative species of rodents, thanks to their ability to maintain their own hygiene and easy tameability. They eat any food that a person can offer them: meat, fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. Large adult specimens can grow up to 30 cm, and their tail will add another 20 cm.

The cerkong or musk kangaroo is an animal that looks like a rat in appearance, its maximum size can reach up to 35 cm, its tail can be 12 cm. They got their name from the inherent smell of musk. Tsepkongs live in thickets near water bodies, feeding on insects, worms, roots and berries. They can climb trees and run on the ground very actively. Females carry their young in a special brood pouch for several months.

Potoroo is one of the species of Kangaroo rats with a body length of up to 41 cm, living in Australia and the islands of Tasmania. These animals are active at night, feeding on insects, fungi and plants. IN daytime sleep in holes. Female potoroos, like all marsupials, spend 4 months in a brood pouch. Distinctive feature in appearance - long hairs on the tail. It moves by jumping on strong hind legs, like a kangaroo.

The bamboo rat is the largest species among the mole rat family; it can grow up to 48 cm in length with a tail of up to 15 cm. This species is common in Asian countries and Thailand. Bamboo rats live in burrows underground, which they dig using strong claws and teeth. They got their name from their habitat - bamboo thickets, among which they find food: roots, stems, bamboo seeds and fruits of other trees.

Large rat kangaroos are rat-like animals belonging to the marsupial family of mammals that live in Australia. They are called rats because of their external resemblance. The length of the body reaches 55 cm, the tail - up to 40 cm. It can jump like a kangaroo or run on 4 legs, has 34 teeth and developed fangs, females carry their cubs in a pouch, starting from the embryonic stage. For housing, they build nests in the grass or use rabbit holes; they are herbivores: they eat root vegetables, plants and mushrooms. Lifestyle is nocturnal.

The Gambian pouched rat belongs to the rodent family Nesomyidae and is widespread in Africa. The length of the rat reaches 90 cm, which is light weight makes her slim and mobile. Another name for this rodent is “hamster rats”, given to them for their ability to carry and store food in their cheek pouches. However, these animals do not belong to marsupial species, i.e. They do not have a pouch for offspring.

On a note!

The popularity of the Gambian pouched rat is high due to its faithful service to humans. They have a very delicate sense of smell and are very trainable. After appropriate training, they are used to search for mines. Sapper rats are less expensive than dogs and are much more effective.

The great cane rat is one of the largest in the world and is common on the African continent. The largest rats of this species have a size of 61 cm and a tail of 26 cm. They are very large and heavy, weighing up to 9 kilograms. Externally, reed rodents resemble nutria: the limbs are thick with strong claws, the head is large with small eyes, ears round shape, the fur is very hard, bristle-like, and sticks out in tufts. They live in reeds and swampy thickets, building burrows there, and swim well. They love to eat in plantings of grain crops and sugar cane, they adore pineapples and cassava, as a result of which they are classified as pests Agriculture. Local residents prepare a variety of dishes from their meat.

In the article I will talk about giant rats and the mysterious grask, which caused a stir on the Internet after an interview with a football player from the Belarusian Dynamo.

What is the biggest rat in the world?

Wild rats are carriers of deadly viral diseases.

The direct danger posed by rodents for many centuries has developed a persistent attitude that is ingrained in the human brain.

People experience fear and hostility towards small animals, which is explained by defense mechanisms activated by genetic memory. The animals have become the heroes of many urban legends and compete with the famous alligators living in the sewers. Despite the fact that most of these stories are mere fiction, some rodents are truly amazing in their parameters.

The hero of the article is the graskat, a giant reed rat (grascutter cane rat) from Africa, whose weight is at least 6 kg.

Rats are able to adapt to their lifestyle and are not particularly picky about their living conditions.

Description and characteristics of graskata

Grascat living in captivity can reach 10 kg in weight and 60 cm in length, excluding the tail.

The rodent has:

• tiny round ears hidden under the fur;
• short and flat nose;
• developed hind limbs exceeding the size of the forelimbs;
• three-toed paws;
• bristly but smooth black-brown fur.

(gray) weighs no more than 400 g, and its body dimensions reach no more than 25 cm.

Lifespan of graskata wildlife is no more than 3 years, and careful care can extend the period to 4 years.

Pasyuk, wild rat

Cane rodents reach sexual maturity after 6-12 months. Every year, the female produces 2 litters containing 1-4 pups. Babies are born sighted and after a few days they show independence.

Rodent nutrition

The large animal is a herbivore.

His diet consists of:

• yams;
• nuts;
• elephant grass;
• corn;
• sugar cane, which gave it its name;
• wheat;
• fallen fruits;
• millet;
• greenery;
• cassava;
• millet

Because of its love for agricultural crops, the rodent is considered a dangerous pest that destroys crops.

To protect the plantations, local residents use the main enemies of graskata - mongooses and pythons.

The main defender against rats is the reticulated python.

Habitat and purpose of graskata

The animal is distributed throughout the continent with the exception of:

• Sugars;
• southwestern part of South Africa;
• parts of the eastern countries beyond South Sudan.

Reeds love a humid and warm climate, so they live in swampy places or dense reed thickets located near water bodies.

Rodents breed during the rainy season, which lasts from October to the beginning of winter in the western part of the continent and all summer in the southern part.

Thanks to the irrigation of dry lands, animals received an additional source of food in the form of human plantations.

Graskats are characterized by:

• activity at night;
• love of water, expressed in skillful swimming techniques;
• living in grass nests;
• formation of groups with 1 male, several females and young animals.

Usually people don't really like these animals and consider them scary

Rat on a platter

Let's return to the football player. When Joel Fameye was asked to name his country's exotic dishes, he said graskata without hesitation.

Africans consider cane pests to be a real delicacy.

Rodent meat is valued for its high protein content and low fat percentage, and also has a delicate and light taste.

Grascata is the name of the dish, not the animal itself.

Grascata - fried or stewed rats

You will have to pay at least $100 for a fried animal.

Other types of giant rats

Having understood that graskata is a dish, it is important to mention its gender affiliation.

The reed is a rodent, but not every rodent is a rat. So, for example, the capybara is the most big representative order of rodents, but it has nothing in common with rats.

Scientists classify reeds into a separate genus – Thryonomys.

Real representatives of the rat family, distinguished by their large size, include:

1. Bamboo. Weighs 4kg and reaches 50cm in length. Lives in China South-East Asia and Cambodia. It feeds on bamboo and is considered a delicacy.
2. Gambian. Weighs 1.5 kg and reaches 90 cm in length including tail. Lives in Africa. It has weak eyesight and a keen sense of smell, which allows it to detect mines after training. The African is similar to the hamster due to the presence of cheek pouches that allow the grains to be hidden during transportation.
3. Bosavi. Weighs 1.5 kg and reaches 82 cm. Lives in New Guinea and is not at all afraid of people. The animal was discovered in 2009 thanks to filming documentary film which took place in the crater of a volcano.

Bamboo rat
Gambian
Bosavi

In conclusion, I note that in Russian realities you don’t have to worry about the invasion of giant rats and sleep peacefully.

There are reasonable fears about possible infection, but real phobias that bring indescribable horror at the sight of a pet dog require psychological help.

Not very good. Traps, poisons, “patented” electronic repellers are proof of this. It is caused, first of all, by the “unsportsmanlike” behavior of animals, which fully correspond to their generic name, because they gnaw on everything edible, and often unsuitable for food. Among them, mice and rats stand out - “faithful” and consistent companions of humans. Where he goes, so do they. They even learned to sail on ships. Myths, fairy tales, where the largest rat in the world appears, have different nations. The “Rat” king is not only the largest, smartest, but also a very cunning, ruthless individual and is their traditional character. This article will briefly explain how rats actually differ in size in nature.

Rats are ordinary, even familiar

Varieties of these animals, which, following man, populated vast territories, some and almost the entire world, with the exception of Antarctica:

• Small rat. It does well in the warm climate of the whole of Southeast Asia and on the islands of Oceania. Maximum dimensions, body weight corresponds to the name - up to 15 cm (without tail), weight - no more than 100 g. The third most common species of rat. Lives, leading a nocturnal lifestyle of active pastime, in any natural environment - from steppes to forests. Can climb trees. It feeds on local grain crops - rice, maize, and for dessert uses cocoa with sugar cane, coconuts and pineapples. Patriot – does not interbreed with European rats.

• Black rat. Cosmopolitan - common on all continents inhabited by humans. Loves port cities, traveling on ships plying the seas and oceans. Heat-loving, does not want to live in cold places. For example, in Russia it is practically impossible to find in the northern territories, in Eastern Siberia. Largest sizes, weight – up to 22 cm / 300 g.

• Gray rat. Otherwise, pasyuk in Russia and Ukraine. Scientifically called Norwegian. This happened thanks to, directly and figuratively, British scientist John Berkenhout, who believed that gray creatures sailed to the islands of the Empire from this country, which did not correspond to the facts. Distributed throughout the world, excluding the polar regions. In cold climates, he prefers to live in human buildings, underground engineering structures, in warm climates - on “free bread”. Easily tamed, it is one of the main laboratory animals. Omnivorous, in “home” conditions it is clean and almost odorless. It grows up to 25 cm, weighs up to 500 g. Pets do not exceed “free-range” sizes, but, being obese, they can gain more body weight.

Scientists believe that rats are the second species of living creatures on Earth with abstract thinking, the ability to act logically. Judging by their many years of observations and experiments, it is the gray rat, not without serious reasons, that confidently lays claim to the title of “the smartest big rat in the world.” Idle stories, myths about these rodents more than a meter in size from the “horrors of the Moscow metro” series, as well as about giant inhabitants of city garbage dumps hunting bull terriers for walking, have nothing to do with reality.

These are the main three species of rats that coexist with humans. The rest are much less common, but some of them are distinguished by enviable sizes.

Record rat and other exotic animals

Who, where, when:

• Turkestan rat. Lives in Central Asia. In size and color it is not much different from its gray relative. The body of this rat also reaches 25 cm.

• Woolly Bosavi or Papuan rat. It got its name because it lives in the vicinity of the crater of the extinct volcano Bosavi in ​​Papua New Guinea. Captured by scientists not so long ago (in 2009), extensively photographed, as well as measured and weighed, the animal turned out to be 82 cm in size with a body weight of 1.5 kg. Local residents claim that these animals grow up to a meter in size. At the same time, they are not aggressive, they feel calm in the hands of a person, perhaps because they have practically no contact with him due to the remoteness of their places of residence.

It is important that the woolly Bosavi is still classified as a genus of real rats - Rattus, and not just with other animals similar to them, primarily rodents, although there are proposals to separate it into a separate genus.

There are many articles and other materials about giant rats, from the endemic marsupials of Australia to the South American capybara, which is actually a capybara. Animals that are not real rats, but are very similar to them and are sometimes so historically, scientifically called, photos, information about which can easily be found on the Internet include:

• Large cane rat. This rodent lives in Africa and belongs to the genus Thryonomys - cane rats.

• Large bamboo rat. Habitat: Africa, Southeast Asia, including China, where sensation hunters periodically “catch” the largest rat in the world. Rodents belong to the bamboo rat family, which has 3 genera and 6 species.

• Large rat kangaroo. To whom he refers is clear from the end of the name.

• And also water rat, giant marsupial, potoroo or kangaroo rat, nutria, beaver, bobak; and even a muskrat, despite its bare “rat” tail.

Mouse-like animals are the most numerous species of mammals. Some prefer to live away from people, 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 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 natural environment a rat never grows to the size of a cat, let alone a dog. Weight adult 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 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. Large sizes pet are 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. Plants of unrealistic sizes were spotted in the exclusion zone, giant vegetables, fruits, cockroaches, rats. 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.

Maximum Rat Size gray about 25 cm in length excluding the tail, black - up to 22 cm. White can grow up to 30 cm - this is its limit. Weight Limit for – 400 g, for – 300 g.

There are more than large specimens. They are found in countries with warm tropical climate, do not harm people, they 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!

In the domain North America a large beaver with a body length of up to 2.5 m and a weight of 350 kg was spotted. 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 ecological situation, an abundance of chemicals, genetically modified products, increased levels of radiation affect the health of living beings, causing mutations. Assume that a rat is capable of growing to large sizes dogs are allowed, but such cases have not been recorded. There are no giant monsters around.

There will be a rat. And at the same time she can die from severe stress. Scientists have also found out that this mammal is the only one that can laugh, except for humans, of course. How big can they be, where do they live, what do they eat, where does the largest rat in the world live and others Interesting Facts In this article.

What are they - wild and domestic?

Despite the fact that rats have a lot of negative characteristics, such as being carriers of diseases, they are one of the most popular pets. Rodents are very clean, practically omnivorous, and quickly become attached to humans. Very smart, friendly, easy to train. According to scientists, rats have higher intelligence than cats. Breeds of white rats were bred specifically for home keeping.

The size of tailed pets is small. Females (350 grams maximum) are usually slightly smaller than males (weighing about half a kilogram). Sometimes, due to a sedentary lifestyle, domestic rats become fat and have larger sizes and weights than usual. Nevertheless, they are far from the title of the largest rat in the world.

Wild ones are not as cute as domesticated ones. At their core, these animals are pests. They live almost everywhere, but most of all they like to live next to a person. According to statistics, there are two rodents for every person living on earth. In ancient times, rats were almost natural disaster. But sometimes similar situations happen in our time. They destroy supplies and cause harm household and carry diseases.

The most common rat is the gray one, it is also called pasyuk and black. Such a rodent grows up to 25 cm, its tail - up to fifteen centimeters. The body weight of pasyuks ranges from two hundred to five hundred grams. Sometimes in favorable conditions they can reach seven hundred grams.

Black rats are slightly smaller than their gray counterparts. Average body size up to twenty centimeters, tail equal to length bodies, sometimes longer. And in weight they are slightly inferior to gray rodents.

What is actually true?

There are many myths about the largest rats in the world. It is safe to say that there are definitely no giant rats in Russia. There are large representatives of their species, but nothing more. An ordinary one living in sewer pipes, even the largest one is unlikely to reach the size of a cat. All stories about the existence of giant mutant rats are nothing more than a myth. Modern cinema is replete with horror films about such “beasts”, but in nature the situation is different.

Woolly Bosavi

The largest rat in the world lives on the African continent. Some specimens reach a length of up to one meter and a weight of up to one and a half kilograms; they are called giant marsupials.

Scientists discovered a slightly smaller rat (80 centimeters) in New Guinea - the woolly Bosavi. Truly impressive in size, the rodent is the size of a dog. These animals are not afraid of humans and are friendly towards them. These animals were discovered relatively recently, in a place remote from civilization. Giant rodents are not familiar with people, so they are not afraid, allow themselves to be stroked and do not bite.

Large individuals

Let us now compile a list of the largest rats. This list contains all the largest rodents on the planet.

The record holder for the largest rat in the world is a rat caught in China. This specimen weighed eleven kilograms. The length of the tail reached 30 centimeters. Although this fact is not recorded anywhere.

In addition, all the stories that the largest rat in the world was discovered - weighing 18 kilograms - also have no evidence. A rodent that grew to such a size due to high level radiation is actually a myth.

Gambian marsupial

The Gambian marsupial living in Africa entered the top 10 largest rats in the world. She doesn't actually have a pouch like a kangaroo.

She got her name because she carries food in pouches behind her cheeks like a hamster. An interesting fact about this rat is that representatives of this breed are very trainable. That's why they are used by intelligence agencies to search explosives. These rats weigh no more than 1.5 kilograms. The body length can reach one meter.

Big reed

Another rodent native to Africa on the list of the largest rats in the world is the great reed rat. They grow up to half a meter. The weight of representatives can reach nine kilograms.

Red kangaroo and musk kangaroo

Lives in Australia and on the island of Tasmania. This rat has a pouch in which it carries its young. The largest specimens reach a body size of up to forty centimeters.

The bamboo rat, found in Southeast Asia, is a relatively small specimen. The body reaches a length of eight centimeters. The herbivore feeds on bamboo and lives in burrows.

Musk kangaroo, also called flail. This animal emits a musky odor. He is also an excellent tree climber. Major representatives This species reaches a body size of more than 30 centimeters. It feeds on insects, plant roots, and worms.

"Standard"

The “standard” subspecies is the rat from which decorative species originate. These individuals are clean and unpretentious in food. That's why they became the most common pets. The body length of these rodents reaches as much as thirty centimeters. Their tail is up to 20 cm long.

These rats are distributed all over the world, except that they do not live in Antarctica.

Black rat

Another type of rat that is quite common is the black rat. It differs from its gray relatives in that it is thermophilic. It prefers to live not in burrows, but in hollows of trees, on ships.

And the Bosavi woolly rat from Papua New Guinea, one of the largest rats in the world. It was she who was talked about a little above.

The biggest rats in the world. Interesting Facts

All rats that are represented in the top ten are completely non-aggressive, most of them eat plant foods. The exceptions are gray and black. These rodents eat everything.

Rats' teeth grow throughout their lives. In order to wear them down, they constantly chew on something. The teeth are so strong that a rat can easily gnaw through a metal grate or make a hole in a concrete wall.

It has been experimentally established that rats have musical preferences. From three options experimental animals chose classical and modern melodic compositions, not wanting to listen to mechanical noise. There is a known fact when, with the help of rock music, a colony of rats was expelled from a building they had chosen. This happened by accident when a rock concert was held in this building. Before this, no rodent control products helped.

Rats can talk using their throats. Their lexicon quite big. More precisely, they communicate using sounds and ultrasounds: squeaking, whistling, hissing, grinding teeth, various types of squealing. With the help of chirping, they inform their relatives of danger.

The title of the largest rat, whose records are listed in the Guinness Book of Records, belongs to the same woolly Bosavi. This name was coined by scientists who discovered this species of rodent on the island of Sumatra. Unfortunately, there is no scientific name yet.

A little conclusion

Now you know what the largest rat in the world is; we discussed interesting facts about these rodents in detail in the article. We hope that this information was interesting and useful to you.