Monday 27 September 2010 The Black Rat - and its 'tall tails'!

The Black Rat (Rattus rattus) is also known as ship rats, house rats and roof rats. They have acquired these names because of their preferences for inhabiting large ships and nesting in high places such as trees and the upper floors of buildings. These rats thrive in areas inhabited by humans and are found on every continent (thanks to their instinct for ‘stowing away’), near coastal areas. Tropical regions are where they flourish but some data shows that they have been able to adapt to colder climates; this being due to the fact that Norway rats have pushed them out of many of their original habitats. This species rarely swims and is not found in aquatic areas or sewers, preferring instead, forests, agricultural areas, grasslands and any place that supports their mainly vegetarian diet.

Males of the species are often heavier and longer than females and are not solely identified by being black in color; in fact, the rats can be brown, white, grey or agouti. They weigh between 70-300 grams (2.5-10.6 ounces) and are 16-22 centimeters (6.3-8.7 inches) in length. Interestingly the tail of a black rat almost always measures longer than the rat’s body, at about 19 centimeters (7.5 inches) in length.

The species mainly eats fruits, vegetables, grains and vegetation but is an omnivore and has occasionally been known to eat insects or invertebrates. It needs only 15 grams (.52 ounces) of food and 15 milliliters (.51 fluid ounces) of water a day to survive. Its predators consist of house cats, birds and other carnivorous animals. This species of rat is plentiful in many areas and therefore, is not in any way endangered.

Female rats will produce up to 5 litters per year with the gestational period ranging from 21-29 days. Breeding occurs year round and the young are made independent from their mothers between 3 and 4 weeks of age. They begin reproducing at 3 to 5 months old. Males do not have much to do with raising the young as they move from one female to another, mating. Nests, which are made out of sticks and leaves and sometimes found in burrows, are tended by the females.

Black rats are very vocal animals and are known for stripping bark off trees and contaminating human food sources. However, they are probably best known for being the animals that carried the fleas which spread the bubonic plague.

Picture of the black rat by Liftarn, licensed under GFDL You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Wednesday 22 September 2010 The Malayan Porcupine - An Elusive Asian Rarity

The Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) is a rare and elusive creature that lives in many areas of Asia including but not limited to India, Malaysia, Nepal, and Vietnam. They are found living in altitudes from sea level to approximately 1,300 meters above sea level. With a usual life span of 20-27 years depending on environmental and encroaching human building and population factors, they can weigh from 1.7 pounds (0.760 Kg) to around 5.4 pounds (2.414 Kg) and can reach a length of 83.5 cm (32.9 inches) including their long tails. These animals are very shy and prefer to wander and forage for food at night. They are predominantly nocturnal and are rarely seen for any reason during the day unless threatened or sick.

With a huge habitat range of nearly the entire continent of Asia and even further into neighboring continents, the Malayan porcupine is one of the most widely yet sparsely spread out rodents on Earth. What makes the habitat of these creatures unique, however, is the type of terrain that they live in. They live in heavily wooded areas and make their dens in rocky areas of the ground. Malayan porcupines create burrows which lead into huge networks of tunnels beneath their surrounding habitats, allowing them to get around during the daytime without being exposed to sunlight. They live with other adults of their species and usually produce litters of two or three pups after a pregnancy of around 110 days.

The Malayan porcupine is covered at birth with soft quills which sharpen into rigid, hard quills upon reaching adulthood. This is the animal's defense mechanism and is effective to most predators and hunters that come after these porcupines. Though not predators themselves, they eat fruits, roots, nuts, and insects, as well as carrion (or dead animal matter).

In general, the Malayan porcupine is endangered because of over-hunting and human overpopulation into their habitats. There are tribes of people who eat them and who use their quills for decorative purposes. They are also hunted by feral cats, some types of wild hogs, and other predatory animals that live in the same region as they do. In some countries like Vietnam, their paws are considered good-luck charms just as rabbits' feet are in the Unle-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();