| Gambian pouched rat | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Superfamily: | Muroidea |
| Family: | Nesomyidae |
| Subfamily: | Cricetomyinae |
| Genus: | Cricetomys |
| Species: | C. gambianus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse, 1840 |
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The Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus), also known as the African giant pouched rat, is a nocturnal pouched rat of the giant pouched rat genus Cricetomys. It is among the largest muroids in the world, growing up to about 0.9 metres (3 ft) long including their tail which makes up half their length.[2] It is widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging geographically from Senegal to Kenya and from Angola to Mozambique (although it is absent from much of the DR Congo, where Emin's pouched rat is present) and in altitude from sea level to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).[1]
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The Gambian pouched rat has very poor eyesight and so depends on its senses of smell and hearing. Its name comes from the large, hamster-like pouches in its cheeks. It is not a true rat but is part of a uniquely African branch of muroid rodents. It typically weighs between 1 and 1.4 kilograms (2.2 and 3.1 lb).[2] In its native Africa, this pouched rat lives in colonies of up to twenty, usually in forests and thickets, but also commonly in termite mounds. It is omnivorous, feeding on vegetables, insects, crabs, snails, and other items, but apparently preferring palm fruits and palm kernels.
Unlike domestic rats, it has cheek pouches like a hamster. These cheek pouches allow it to gather up several kilograms of nuts per night for storage underground. It has been known to stuff its pouches so full of date palm nuts so as to be hardly able to squeeze through the entrance of its burrow. The burrow consists of a long passage with side alleys and several chambers, one for sleeping and the others for storage. The Gambian pouched rat reaches sexual maturity at 5–7 months of age. It has up to four litters every nine months, with up to six offspring in each litter. Males are territorial and tend to be aggressive when they encounter one another; otherwise, this rodent is extremely friendly and has become popular as an exotic pet. It is intelligent, social and can be very gentle if handled from an early age. However, feral subjects have been known to attack humans living in cramped conditions.
In Africa, it is routinely eaten as bushmeat.
Currently, these rats have become an invasive species on Grassy Key in the Florida Keys[3].
This outsized African rodent is also believed to be responsible for the current outbreak of monkeypox in the United States. In 2003, the United States' CDC and FDA issued an order preventing the importation of the rodents following the first reported outbreak of monkeypox. Around 20 individuals were affected.[4] Several African species are believed to carry the disease.
In September 2008, the FDA and CDC lifted the ban on pouched rats as pets in the United States. They are still illegal to import from outside the U.S.[5]
A Tanzanian social enterprise founded by two Belgians called APOPO, trains Gambian pouched rats to detect land mines and tuberculosis with their highly developed sense of smell. The trained pouched rats are called HeroRATS.