Giant rat species captured on video for 1st time in Papua New Guinea
Giant rat species caught on video for 1st time
A giant rodent, among the world’s largest, was caught on camera for the first time in Papua New Guinea, with the stunning footage released on April 18. (Credit: Frantisek Vejmelka, Biology Centre CAS via Storyful)
Recently-released footage shows the capture of one of the world's largest rodents for the first time in Papua New Guinea.
Dig deeper:
The video was published on April 18.
According to the Czech Academy of Sciences, these rats can grow up to almost 3 feet and weigh almost 4.4 pounds.
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In addition to the Philippine giant rat, Papua New Guinea’s subalpine rats are the largest in the world.
The backstory:
Frantisek Vejmelka, a Czech biologist at the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia, said he spent six months in Papua New Guinea.
He was the first scientist to document the subalpine rat.
Before he captured the video, the rat had only been mentioned in museum materials from 1989.
Vejmelka's findings, along with his footage, were published in the scientific journal Mammalia last month.
What they're saying:
"It is incredible that such a large and remarkable animal remained so little known to science," Vejmelka said in a statement to Storyful. "How much do we still not know about the biodiversity of tropical mountains?"
Vejmelka also said during his research, he got help from several local tribes to find the rats and record data about them.
The Source: Storyful contributed to this report. The information in this story comes from a recent video and scientific findings published by Frantisek Vejmelka, a Czech biologist with the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia. This story was reported from Los Angeles.