The largest rat is 18 kg. The biggest rats on earth. Where do the biggest wild rats live?

Rats are among the largest representatives of rodents. And the larger they are, the more negative feelings of fear and disgust they can cause. 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 in numerous photos of rats on the Internet and in books. frightening: 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 the 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. During the daytime they sleep in burrows. Female potoroos, like all marsupials, spend 4 months in a brood pouch. A distinctive feature in appearance is 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, 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, with its light weight, makes it slender and agile. 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, the ears are round, the fur is very hard, similar to bristles, sticking 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.

Representatives of the “Indonesian” rat species, which can be found in the Moscow metro, are not easy to forget. These are huge rodents. Residents of the capital have seen such rats in landfills. Anyone can be afraid of these rodents. Even dogs are afraid of the so-called " Indonesian" rats.

These rodents reach about a meter in length. Well, their height is 70-80 centimeters. Everyone who saw these giant rats got chills.

Giant rats were first discovered in Moscow back in 1989. But no one wanted to believe the eyewitnesses! Now many Muscovites can no longer be surprised by telling them about these huge rats. After all, they saw them themselves!

2nd place

In fact, no one knows for sure how big a rat can grow. But British scientists managed to find an individual whose length was just under a meter.

Moreover, we found such a rat quite by accident when we were filming a program about a volcano.

Considered very large cane rats . They are found in areas where there are bodies of water. These rodents live in packs, including a male and several females with cubs.

Such rats are herbivores, so they can cause significant damage to fields and plantations. Leopards and large snakes with birds, as well as mongooses, actively hunt such rats. The body length of these rodents is from 35 to 61 centimeters. The length of the tail can reach 26 centimeters.

Kangaroo rats also very large. They can grow from 25 to 55 centimeters! Their tail can reach 40 centimeters. Interestingly, the weight of such rats is often from 1 to 3 kilograms.

The tails of kangaroo rats are completely covered with hair. Their paws resemble those of a kangaroo. Such rodents move as if they are participating in a race. These rats have pouches, just like real kangaroos. It is in these bags that rodents of this species carry their own young.

5th place

A merchant from Fuzhou managed to catch Chinese bamboo rat , which weighed 11 kilograms. He thought that his discovery would be very interesting to scientists. Then it turned out that such a rat was already well known.

Adults of these rodents reach a length of 25 centimeters. But there is a special type of bamboo rat that grows up to 48 centimeters. The tail is relatively short, since its length is only 15 centimeters. These rats are eaten in China!

It should be noted that these rodents are slow. A huge part of the life of such rats takes place in underground burrows. These rats mainly feed on reeds.

6th place

On the island of Flores there is a huge species of rats, whose body length reaches approximately 45 centimeters. Their tail reaches a length of 75 centimeters!

Such rodents eat only plant foods.

Gray rats are considered large in Russia, the body of which can reach a length of 40 centimeters, which is why rodents are in 7th position in the ranking. The tail length of such rats is approximately 20 centimeters.

There are wild predatory rats called pasyuki. These are very large rodents. They are approximately 27 centimeters in length. Such rats are found everywhere. They live in burrows and are very aggressive.

Pasyuki boldly attack not only cats and dogs, but also people.

9th place

There are large decorative rats of a breed called “Standard”. On average, their body length is 25 centimeters. Well, the length of the tail of such rodents is 28 centimeters.

10th place

Wild Turkestan rats can also boast of large sizes. The body of such rodents reaches approximately 23 centimeters in length. They can get along well close to people, settling in rural and urban buildings.

The largest rat in the world is the subject of numerous speculations and, undoubtedly, myths. With all this, meet giant individuals on the territory Russian Federation However, it won’t work out, since such rats mainly live abroad.

Rats are of absolutely no value to humans and that is why no one will specifically raise them. As for artificially bred breeds, the resulting rodents do not exceed more than five hundred grams, and also do not differ in significant length.

Rats can reach impressive sizes

Note! As practice shows, it is rats that are able to survive and exist even in conditions of increased radiation, where ordinary creatures immediately die.

It is as a result of this kind of process, when rats adapt to new living conditions, that their mutation occurs. It is radiation that can provoke significant growth in rats.

Currently, quite large specimens of these rodents can be found in nature, which prefer to live in places with a warm tropical climate.

Rats are considered one of the most common and popular animals, despite the fact that they have a lot of negative characteristics. In addition to the negative influence, rats can also bring a lot of positive emotions. This mainly applies exclusively to domestic rats, which are distinguished by their cleanliness, friendliness, and also by the fact that they can be trained very quickly and become attached to humans.

The Bosavi woolly rat is the largest in the world

As for wild rats, they are not as friendly and cute compared to domestic ones. In most situations, such rodents have a negative impact and can destroy human supplies, as well as cause harm to the household and are carriers of various diseases. This behavior of wild rats is undoubtedly explained by the harsh living conditions in the wild.

Rating and features of the largest rats

As mentioned earlier, the largest ones are found in the wild, in places where a warm tropical climate prevails.

The following species can be considered the largest rats living in the wild:

Gambian rat - this rodent differs from all other species in its size, which is quite impressive for a rat. This rat can reach ninety centimeters in length and weigh about 1.5 kilograms. These rats live in Africa, where they prefer to live in small colonies, the number of which does not exceed twenty. Rodents prefer to obtain food at night. The peculiarity of the Gambian rat is the presence of not only its impressive size, but also a long tail, large open ears, as well as excellent hearing and very poor eyesight. In the wild, these rodents live no more than three years.
Large Cane Rat – This species of rodent is also one of those that grow to significant sizes. The body length of this rat can reach sixty centimeters, and the weight of adults can be from four to seven kilograms. Outwardly, these rats more closely resemble nutria. These rats live mainly in Africa, as well as in the south of the Sahara.
Musky kangaroo (flap-legged) - these rodents were named this way because of their characteristic musky odor, which is emitted by representatives of both sexes. The body length of this rat is about 340 mm, and its body weight reaches from 400 to 700 grams. Distinctive feature These rodents have a short head and a pointed muzzle, and the limbs are of exactly the same length. These rats live mainly on the coast of north-east Queensland.
Red kangaroo - this rat is not very large in size, but it is considered the largest rodent from the marsupial order and lives mainly in Australia. The animal differs in that it leads a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle. This species of rat prefers to live alone and hide all day long in a nest, which they build from tree bark, grass or leaves. The body length of these rodents is about 52 centimeters, and the weight of an adult reaches four kilograms.
Standard rat - this type of rodent is considered one of the most common throughout the world, as it is the ancestor of almost all varieties of decorative rats. The average body length of this animal is about 25 centimeters, and its weight is no more than 500 grams. The rodent's body is quite massive, as is its head.
Black rat - this species is also considered quite common throughout the world. The body length of an adult rat is about twenty centimeters, while its weight can reach three hundred grams. The lifespan of these rodents depends, of course, on their habitat and is about five years.
Gray rat - despite the fact that this animal is not impressive in size, it can leave people not only without food, but also infect them with a fatal infection. The body length of this rodent is about twenty-five centimeters. In nature, rats build their own kind of houses to live in; for this they dig holes approximately eighty centimeters deep.
Potoroo (Kangaroo rat family) - the weight of these rodents is about two kilograms. The rat lives mainly in Western Australia. It is in these places that the rodent feels safer. The body length of this animal reaches 60 centimeters.
Bamboo rat - in the family, these rats have the predominant size. The body length of this rodent is about 48 centimeters. The habitat of these rats is Thailand, the island of Sumatra and the Malpyka Peninsula.
Bosavi woolly rat - this rodent is considered the largest in the world. These giant rats live mainly on the African continent. There were individuals that reached one meter in length and weighed approximately one and a half kilograms. These are quite impressive sizes, since such rats grow to the size of a dog.

Natural size and weight of rats

Rats have always aroused increased interest among people, which has always manifested itself in the size of the largest rodents, how much they weigh, and also where these species live. As practice shows, despite the fact that these rodents are not measured in centimeters, their approximate sizes can be found everywhere. It is completely impossible to determine the exact length of a rat's body. This is explained, first of all, by the characteristics of the rat’s body, which can be stretched at certain moments, as well as by their restlessness. Basically the rats are weighed.

As for weight, there are no specific limits here. This animal can weigh as much as it wants, completely regardless of the length of its body. Based on statistics, the average rat weighs about 400 grams. This indicator is advantageous for females, but males weigh on average about six hundred grams; of course, this does not apply to giant representatives of this species.

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 because still image During their lifetime, domestic rats become fatter 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 a natural disaster for people. But sometimes similar situations happen in our time. They destroy supplies, cause damage to households and transmit 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. The average size body up to twenty centimeters, tail equal to body length, 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. Ordinary, 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. Therefore, they are used by intelligence agencies to search for 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. From this animal comes musky smell. He is also an excellent tree climber. Large representatives of this species reach body sizes of more than 30 centimeters. It feeds on insects, plant roots, and worms.

"Standard"

Subspecies “standard” - the rat from which they originate decorative types. 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. Of the three options, the 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 vocabulary is quite large. More precisely, they communicate using sounds and ultrasounds: squeaking, whistling, hissing, grinding teeth, different types squeal. 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 type 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.

Wanting to understand whether the pet is developing correctly, the rat breeder turns to standard data, comparing the parameters of his pet with them.

The fact whether an animal will become large or small when it grows up depends on many reasons:

type;
genetics;
health;
content.

Therefore, when purchasing a pet, you must see its parents. Small animals never give birth to giants. Therefore, no matter how diligent the owners are in keeping a rodent, genetics will negate all their efforts.

Important! Animals purchased in pet stores usually lag behind in growth compared to their counterparts raised in nurseries, since sellers rarely purchase rat pups older than 3 weeks. Babies need 25-28 days to stay with their mother. Early weaning from it affects the health of the individual.

It is difficult to measure the length of a pet, since the animal is extremely flexible.

The animal’s body is designed in such a way that it can stretch up to 40 cm, and is flattened or compressed into a lump 10 cm long.

Although some experienced breeders and zoologists still manage to take measurements of animals that are in a normal calm state.

The largest and smallest species of rats on the planet

Among these rodents. In China, bamboo rats live, which reach 4 kg in weight and grow up to half a meter.

And in Africa you can find a reed rat, the size of an adult individual of which is 61 cm. Such a miracle weighs almost 9 kg. In captivity, it can only be kept under conditions artificially created for it.

The smallest species live in New Guinea, on the islands Pacific Ocean and in Central Asia. They are called Pacific. The body of the animal ranges from 11 to 15 cm, and the weight of an adult rat is no more than 80g.

Wild rats in Russia

These animals are found everywhere in our country: in nature and near human habitations.
Among the wild undomesticated species we live:

Turkestan (red);
black;
pasyuk (gray).

In their natural habitat, pasyuki grow up to 25 cm without taking into account the tail and can weigh 400 g. Occasionally, representatives weighing half a kilo are found.

The black variety is slightly inferior to the pasyuki. They are found from 18 to 22 cm with a mass of up to 300 g.

Turkestan red rats are the smallest among this group: from 17 to 21 cm in length and weighing 280 g.

There is a myth that among the wild inhabitants of sewers and chemical plants, giant mutants up to a kilogram in weight and the height of a large cat appear from time to time. However, no such facts were documented.

Domestic decorative rats

Russians happily keep and breed these rodents in their homes. These are today regarded as human companion animals.

Behind Lately rat selection has reached a new level: . Rat breeders have developed standards for animals, based on which exhibitions are held and the best representatives are selected.

The goal of breeders is to improve the appearance of the animals, immunity, and increase. No one is breeding a particularly large variety of rodents.

However, adult domestic rats are still larger than their wild relatives: some males reach 650 g. They also exceed them in size, reaching 30 cm.

Representatives of different varieties and species differ from each other only in appearance. The size of the animals practically does not depend on the species.

The most popular varieties of decorative rats in Russia:

satin;
anurans;
downy (Fuzz);
blue;

Standard rat sizes (weight) by month

Age in months	Male weight above average (g)	Female weight above average (g)	Average male weight (g)	Average female weight (G.)	Male weight below average (g)	Female weight below average (g)
Newborns	6,5-7	5-6	4-5	3-4	3-3,5	2,8-3
2	230-260	220-250	160-220	160-210	120-150	120-150
3	320-360	260-290	250-310	210-250	210-240	170-210
4	450-500	280-340	340-430	250-290	300-320	210-240
5	550-650	350-450	440-540	300-340	330-430	250-290