For whatever reason, a lot of people have a natural fear of rats. If you are one of those them- then you might not want to read about this giant new rat species which was discovered deep in the jungle of Papua New Guinea.
It is called the “Bosavi Woolly Rat” and was discovered during the filming of Lost Land of the Volcano, a BBC wildlife documentary, in the volcanic crater of Mount Bosavi. The 32 inch long rat weighs around 3.3 lb, effectively making it the biggest rat on the planet. Unlike other large rodents, like the Capybara, this is a true rat, just like the ones you’ll find in houses and sewers, except of course that it’s the size of a freaking cat!
It has a silver coat of long, thick fur, making it not only the biggest, but also the cutest looking rat I have ever seen. This giant rat also seemed very tame and approachable towards the scientist. If you’re not afraid of rats then you’re probably asking yourself where to get one as a pet? Well, this extremely rare animal can only be found in one place in the world, namely the remote and dangerous kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi. So, if you want to venture deep into a vulcano to find one, be our guest, we’ll just wait in the car – thank you very much.
Besides this amazing big rat, a number of other new animals were discovered in this isolated location, such as:
The mountain acts like an island in the vast sea of jungle, isolating the wildlife on it. Interesting fact is that most wildlife living in the Bosavi Crater show little to no fear of humans, and it’s possible to walk up to most of the wild animals and pick them up. The habitat in the area is currently regarded as untouched and is as close as venturing into the Lost World as you can get. Unfortunately, less than 20 miles away, extensive logging operations are happening.