What sizes are rats? The biggest rat in the world. The largest rats in Russia

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, 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 body size is up to twenty centimeters, the tail is equal to the length of the body, 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. This animal emits a musky odor. 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 about her that was described 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 the 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 quite big. 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.

Recently, 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

Size and weight of wild and domestic rats

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The largest rat in the world is the basis for 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

Pay attention! 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 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 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 conditions wildlife 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. A distinctive feature of these rodents is their short head and pointed muzzle, and their 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.

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 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.

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. It’s definitely not possible 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 later ).

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 catch sight of 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 allegedly popular true story, which 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 emerging from manholes near landfills and driving away 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. Still, 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 cells, in conditions of lack physical activity and abundance of food, many of them overeat 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 nezomiids, 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 but 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:

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:
The beaver is the second largest and largest rodent in the world, weighing up to 32 kg;
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;
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 mind 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

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 her body and muzzle is very different from everyone else known species 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 remains in doubt.

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.