{"id":2190760,"date":"2026-04-20T06:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2190760"},"modified":"2026-04-18T09:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T07:12:24","slug":"it-can-chew-through-coconuts-with-its-razor-sharp-teeth-6-weirdest-rats-in-the-world-including-one-deadly-enough-to-kill-an-elephant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/it-can-chew-through-coconuts-with-its-razor-sharp-teeth-6-weirdest-rats-in-the-world-including-one-deadly-enough-to-kill-an-elephant\/","title":{"rendered":"“It can chew through coconuts with its razor-sharp teeth.” 6 weirdest rats in the world, including one deadly enough to kill an elephant…"},"content":{"rendered":"
The rat world is full of surprises \u2013\u00a0with some that contains enough poison to kill an\u00a0elephant\u00a0and others that\u00a0can remain fertile for 30 years.<\/p>\n
From coconut-cracking rats in the Solomon Islands to rats with surprisingly long pubic hair in Indonesia, these are some of the weirdest \u2013\u00a0and most interesting \u2013 rats in the world.<\/p>\n
The weirdest rats<\/h2>\n
Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus<\/em>)<\/h3>\n
It turns out, the rats we see in the UK are pretty small fry in the grand scheme of things. The\u00a0world\u2019s biggest rat\u00a0(in terms of length) is the African native Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus<\/em>), with a body size of 43cm and a tail measuring a further 45cm \u2013 88cm in total \u2013 weighing an average of 1.3kg.<\/p>\n\n
Gambian pouched rat cub, Cricetomys gambianus (credit: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n
Maned rat (Lophiomys imhausi<\/em>)<\/h3>\n
The maned rat \u2013 which also goes by the name of the crested rat (or the African crested rat) \u2013 is considered to be the only\u00a0poisonous rat. It\u2019s also the only known mammal to sequest plant toxins for use as a defence mechanism.<\/p>\n\n
Maned or crested rat (credit: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Sumatran bamboo rat (Rhizomys sumatrensis<\/em>)<\/h3>\n
If the length of the Gambian pouched rat didn\u2019t alarm you enough, let\u2019s introduce you to the Sumatran bamboo rat \u2013 the\u00a0heaviest rat\u00a0on the planet. Its body, measuring 50cm, weighs a whopping 3.9kg.<\/p>\n\n
Large bamboo rat (rhizomys sumatrensis) spotted in a market in Laos (credit: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The\u00a0naked male rat\u00a0is an unusual creature: it\u2019s the world\u2019s only cold-blooded mammal and can survive 18 minutes without oxygen and feel no pain. They also live like insects, with colonies ruled by a single breeding queen which produces dozens of offspring several times a year.<\/p>\n
Fascinatingly, the\u00a0naked mole rat also defies ageing and disease. While mice live to around four years of age, naked mole rats can live up to 30, remaining fertile until the end.<\/p>\n\n
A close-up shot of a naked mole rat in an underground burrow (credit: Gety Images) – Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Vangunu Giant Rat (Uromys vika<\/em>)<\/h3>\n
The Vangunu Giant Rat is a recent discovery for researchers, who caught one on camera for the first time in just 2023. It is only found on the small island of Vanganu in the Solomon Islands, off the north-east coast of Australia. It\u2019s about twice the size of the average city-dwelling rat, and it can chew through coconuts with its razor-sharp teeth.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re extremely shy around humans, making them particularly difficult to trace. Their existence came onto researchers\u2019 radar in 2015, when one was found dead. In 2017, it was formally identified as a species.<\/p>\n\n
A remote camera image of a Vangunu giant rat (Uromys Vika) (credit: Tyrone H. Lavery, Adrian Holland, Nixon Jino, Atuna Judge, Hikuna Judge, Pandakai Onga, Kevin Sese, via Wikicommons https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Uromys_vika.jpg)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Hog-nosed shrew rat (Hyorhinomys stuempkei<\/em>)<\/h3>\n
When this new species of rat was discovered in Indonesia in 2015, researchers were interested in its distinct and unique features, which they found to be uncommon in other rats. It has a hog-like nose, with a long face and ears that are significantly bigger than they\u2019d expect to find in a shrew rat like this. It also has pubic hairs that are much more long and extended than those found on other mammals.<\/p>\n\n
Hog-nosed shrew rat (Hyorhinomys stuempkei) (credit: Animalia via Wikicommons)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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