Mammals · Rodentia · Nesomyidae

Northern Giant Pouched Rat

Cricetomys gambianus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The northern giant pouched rat is a myomorph rodent of the family Nesomyidae. It belongs to a group of rats characterised by large cheek pouches in which they can carry a great deal of food. Along with mice, voles, hamsters and gerbils it forms part of the muroid superfamily, and within it is one of the largest species. Its eyesight is very poor and it relies on its senses of smell and hearing. It can be trained to find buried landmines, being easier to train and cheaper to keep than a dog.

Weight

1 kg – 1.5 kg

Size

25 cm – 45 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

SavannaRainforestGrasslandOmnivore Nocturnal Solitary Savanna Rainforest Grassland Mammal

43countries 56parks

Fun facts

It is trained to detect landmines by the smell of the explosive: it weighs too little to set them off and can sweep in twenty minutes an area that would take a human with a detector four days. Thousands of mines have been located this way in Mozambique, Angola and Cambodia.
It is also trained to detect tuberculosis in sputum samples: in an hour it screens as many samples as a laboratory does in several days, and it has made it possible to identify thousands of cases that microscopes had missed.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Forest, savanna, scrub and farmed and peri-urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa
Sexual maturity: 5.2 months
Gestation / incubation: 34 days
Litter / clutch size: 3.5 (average)

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricetomys_gambianus