If you’re not a fan of giant rodents, you might want to brace yourself — because this one’s an absolute monster at THREE TIMES the size of your average brown European rat.
23:26, 21 May 2025Updated 23:31, 21 May 2025
A scientist has discovered a whopping species of rat that measures more than two-and-a-half feet. The proud discoverer Frantiek Vejm¿lka is pictured with the giant rat in its natural habitat at 12,000 feet
A colossal species of rat measuring more than 2.5 feet long has been discovered living high up in the mountains of Papua New Guinea.
Dubbed the subalpine woolly rat, this beastly rodent comes equipped with sharp incisors, thick fur, and three-inch claws — and it’s been caught on camera for the very first time, reports the MailOnline.
Astonishing footage shows the shaggy-furred rat scampering across a tree branch in the dead of night, likely hunting for food. But thankfully for anyone hoping to sleep tonight, the giant critter isn’t found in the UK — it lives in the steep, rugged highlands of Mount Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea.
The discovery was made by scientist František Vejmělka, from the Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia in the Czech Republic.
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He said: “It’s astonishing that such a large and striking animal has remained so poorly studied. How much more is there to discover about the biodiversity of tropical mountains?”
A scientist has discovered a whopping species of rat that measures more than 2.5 feet long three times the size of a brown rat.
Until now, this mega-rodent — scientifically known as Mallomys istapantap — was only known from a few museum specimens, first described in 1989, and hadn’t been spotted in the wild for three decades.
But during a six-month expedition, Mr Vejmělka — working with local tribes — finally captured images and video footage of the elusive species in its natural habitat.
The camera traps were placed around 12,000ft (3,700 metres) up Mount Wilhelm, which peaks at an eye-watering 14,793ft (4,509 metres), capturing the rat’s movements through misty forests and grasslands.
Measuring 2.7 feet (85cm) in length — including its tail — and weighing nearly 2kg, the subalpine woolly rat dwarfs its brown rat cousin, which typically grows to just 11 inches (28cm) and weighs 200-300g.
The ‘striking and formidable’ species, called the subalpine woolly rat, has sharp incisors, thick fur and clawed paws measuring three inches (8cm).
In fact, it’s almost the same length as a domestic cat, which usually weighs between 3.6 to 4.5kg and measures around 2.3 feet (70cm) in length.
Mr Vejmělka gathered crucial data on the rat’s diet, parasites, activity patterns, and movement, helping to shed light on a species that has managed to stay hidden for so long.
Turns out, this nocturnal creature leads a secretive life — climbing trees at night, hiding in burrows or treetops by day, and feeding exclusively on plants.
The findings, published in the journal Mammalia, mark a huge step forward in understanding the mysterious mammals of New Guinea’s remote mountains.
“These are the first specimen records in 30 years for this spectacular mammal poorly known to science,” said Mr Vejmělka, who credited the local tribes for helping with the discovery.
“Camera trap images and video, as well as photographs of the habitat and hunting with indigenous people, deepen our understanding of the activity patterns, locomotion, diet, intrageneric elevational partitioning, and behavioural ecology of the woolly rats.”
These New Guinean woolly rats, along with the giant cloud rats of the Philippines, are the largest rodents in the murine family and have evolved over five million years in rainforest-covered mountain slopes — untouched by competing mammals.
But despite its massive size, the subalpine woolly rat isn’t the biggest rat out there.
That title belongs to the Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus), which can grow up to 3ft long — with its tail accounting for half of that length.
Also in the running is the Malagasy giant rat (Hypogeomys antimena) from Madagascar, which hits around 2ft.
Still, none of today’s rodents quite compare to prehistoric giants like Josephoartigasia monesi or Phoberomys pattersoni — now extinct — which roamed the Earth as part of the planet’s long-lost megafauna.
These larger-than-life beasts likely died out due to climate changes, environmental shifts, and human hunting.
But the recent discovery of the subalpine woolly rat proves that the world still holds plenty of hidden giants — and not all of them are confined to legend.