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A pack rat or packrat, also called a woodrat or trade rat, are any species in the North and Central American rodent genus Neotoma. Pack rats have a rat-like appearance, with long tails, large ears, and large, black eyes. Pack rats are noticeably larger than deer mice, harvest mice, and grasshopper mice, and are usually somewhat larger than ...
When searching for food is dangerous or unproductive, animals often use food stores to supply all or part of their diet. This is a feasible strategy to avoid food shortage. It is the habit of collecting and storing both food and nonfood items that has earned the eastern woodrat is other common name of "pack-rat" or "trade rat". [17]
Females have been observed breeding as soon as 12 hours after giving birth, and may be pregnant with one litter while nursing another. [3] [6] Gestation period in captivity is 27–32 days. Newborns weigh around 15 g (0.53 oz). Eyes open at about 15 days old, and weaning occurs at 26–30 days. Males leave the mother at 2½ months.
Image credits: an1malpulse #5. Animal campaigners are calling for a ban on the public sale of fireworks after a baby red panda was thought to have died from stress related to the noise.
Desert woodrats are relatively small for pack rats, measuring 28 to 39 cm (11 to 15 in) in length, including a 12 to 20 cm (4.7 to 7.9 in) tail. They weigh from 122 to 350 g (4.3 to 12.3 oz), with males being larger than females. Their coloring varies between individuals, and can be anything from pale gray to cinnamon to near-black.
Nicknames include "packrats" or "trade rats" because of their tendency to hoard things, build large domed dens, and "trade" by dropping then picking up another object for it. Coyotes and other predators will attempt to prey on these rodents by laying waste to the dens, but the sheer volume of material is usually dissuasive. Occasionally, dusky ...
Rats are bigger than most Old World mice, which are their relatives, but seldom weigh over 500 grams (17 + 1 ⁄ 2 oz) in the wild. [2] The term rat is also used in the names of other small mammals that are not true rats. Examples include the North American pack rats (aka wood rats [3]) and a number of species loosely called kangaroo rats. [3]
The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent with a body length of up to 28 cm (11 in) long, and a tail slightly shorter than that. It weighs between 140 ...